The Maiden and the Dragon
by Shittenou Jadeite
Summary: Two souls, broken by time, find themselves in a new era where a war in the shadows threatens the world. As they realize their purpose, accept their destinies, what will change when they meet once again? Lines will be drawn and crossed and the border of friend and foe become muddled. But is there hope for them, or have all bridges been burned?
1. Chapter 1: Dream

(Hello everyone! I'm going to try my hand at a SM story about my OTP - original true pairing - focusing around Rei and Jadeite. These two don't get enough credit on here - actually none of the couples get enough credit since it's overshadowed by Usa and Mamo, or Usa and Seiya...or even Haruka and Michiru. GETTING SIDETRACKED! Anyways, I want to do them justice but at the same time I want to just write one for the hell of it because I love these two. So, long intro over with, I present to you my first story and please, don't hold back with the reviews - even the flames, so long as you keep them clean. I welcome your criticism. Enough babbling - on with the SHOOOOOW!)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters all belong to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.

* * *

Bright light blasted her eyes, soft hands coming up to shield them. The sound of birds twittering filled her ears, along with the rustle of the leaves in the trees above.

"Not used to the sun," a voice asked.

" _Your_ sun is different," she shot back, lowering her hands to look at her companion. His face was blinded by the sun's rays, but she could still see him smile at her.

"It's all a matter of perspective, you see." He walked towards her, and the light became brighter. "Someday, you'll understand that, fire bird."

"Rei... REI!" A voice barged into her mind, and like that the brightness was gone replaced by familiar surroundings. And hovering above her was the face of an elderly man who was not the same man she had seen before. "You're going to be late for school!"

All the sleepiness in her mind was shoved away by that single sentence, her eyes shooting wide open as she shot up from the bed, cursing under her breath as she gathered her things for the day ahead. "Gomen, Oji-san, it won't happen again," she said in a rush, hurrying into her uniform and grabbing her bag on the way out.

She couldn't believe what she'd done. Sleeping in? Unheard of! She'd be lucky to get away with just a wrist slapping when she got to the academy, though her classmates were sure to tease her about this. She groaned. Why oh why didn't she wake up sooner? And who was that man that seemed to star in many of her recent fantasies?

* * *

Blond curls fell over the face of a young man as he sat on the edge of the bed, clothed in only his pants as he clutched the gem with surprising gentleness. The fiery hue of the ruby glimmered back up at him like a twinkling star, utterly flawless and yet he felt sickened by it. Why? What did this stone mean to him?

A whirl of rushing water alerted him to the presence of another, prompting him to hide the gem. Blankly he regarded the arrival of a buxom woman clad in a form-fitting teal cocktail dress, a mane of ocean blue hair flowing down her shoulders. Gloved hands grasped the folds of her dress as she curtsied.  
"My Lord, the Queen has summoned you."

"Did she ask why," the blond asked all of a sudden when he froze. Where had THAT come from?

The woman either didn't hear him or decided to let it go, fortunately. "She wishes to speak to you about your next plan to gather energy. I was appointed to escort you." Looking up again, her aqua blue eyes suddenly widened and her cheeks flamed, her gaze dropping quickly to the floor.

The man just stood up, a uniform of ash gray appearing on him with but a thought. "Then let's not let keep her waiting." Joining the woman, he waited as a whirlpool of water enveloped them, idly fingering the ruby in his pocket.

* * *

Ignoring the sniggering from the other students, Rei made her way through the campus grounds towards her favorite spot during lunch; she smiled when she saw it was deserted, like always. She found herself a soft patch of grass and sat down underneath a large tree, its thick branches shielding her from the bright rays of the sun, home to a number of birds that twittered and chirped above her.

She sighed contently as she opened her bento, the aroma of her pre-made food making her mouth water. Peace at last Once her food was finished, she set it off to the side and leaned against the large tree, letting her eyes slip closed. Her thoughts soon turned to that weird dream from this morning, in particular its star the handsome blond man that called her fire bird .

She felt her cheeks warm slightly.

Who was he? Why did just thinking about him make her heart race? Perhaps he was someone she'd meet in the future, perhaps her prince charming?

She laughed. 'Right, like I'm some damsel in distress that needs rescuing. Get real. There's nobody like that for me.' And yet, somehow the words didn't fit as well in her heart as they should've. But before her musings could go any further, the bell began ringing, signaling the end of free period. She gathered herself and stood tall, as the wind picked up and blew her hair around her face softly as she began the walk back toward the school building. 'I'm not a princess and this isn't a fairy-tale. It's reality; better get used to it.'

* * *

The oppressive gloom of Queen Beryl's throne room never failed to unnerve him in some ways, but he had learned long ago to keep such things to himself. The Dark Kingdom did not tolerate weakness.

Before the throne made of cave rock he bowed, one gloved hand over his heart while he felt his companion do the same, the click clack of her shoes echoing in the chamber.

Beryl had yet to address him and this made him nervous. His latest plans had been unraveled thanks to those damnable Senshi, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury. All the energy he had collected had dwindled down to practically nothing and it had been some time since Beryl had summoned him. His loyalty was unshakable but his fear of her was present but concealed; if she wanted to, she could've just erased him then and there without batting an eyelash. So why was she making him wait?

"Jadeite," the red-haired woman finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity. "Our ruler grows impatient with the progress of finding the Ginzuishou, and that in turn has made her rather restless. She has decreed that you are to formulate another energy harvest, and for your sake I hope you won't botch this one. So, tell me, in your solitude have you come up with a plan worthy of my ears?"

Jadeite felt an immeasurable relief. He'd been given another chance, by Metaria of all people. That was a surprise, but a welcome one. "Of course, my queen," he answered, not missing a beat. "With your permission, I have located a suitable location at the Hikawa Shrine. The spiritual energies there are very potent and have drawn innumerable amounts of humans without fail it would be all too easy to step in and take what is rightfully ours."

"I hope, for your sake, that right you are. You will leave immediately."

As Jadeite stood up, the blue-haired woman suddenly stepped forward towards the Queen, "My Queen, with all due respect, perhaps I should go with Lord Jadeite," she said, drawing the surprised glare of the blond man. "If the Senshi learn of his plans, they could interfere and-"

"Your concern is noted, Tethys," Beryl drawled, a slow smile spreading on her lips that sent a chill down Jadeite's spine. "But Jadeite is one of my Shitennou, one of my trusted generals... if he cannot handle a couple of unruly brats, then what use is he?"

His gloves strained as he clenched his hands into fists, his glare hardening until he turned away with a scowl, storming out of the chamber. Beryl was right; he was a Shitennou, one of Earth's finest warriors! A couple of Sailor Senshi would be no match for him if he went all out and it was high time he stopped messing around. There were only two of them but his experience trumped their measly advantages.

If those girls dared to come near him, he'd send them to the void.

Even in his anger though, his thoughts turned toward the dream he'd had earlier before Tethys had barged in. Of all the questions he wanted to ask, especially in regards to the woman he d seen in it, there was one that stood out above all others:

Who is Vasileios?


	2. Chapter 2: Encounter

(apologies in advance for the random updates; I'm still working my way around the system on here and it's taken some getting used to. I think I've got it now. Sorry for this. The next few updates should be a little more smoother in terms of formatting and such)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters all belong to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.

* * *

Several hours later, a weary Rei Hino made her way up the steps to her home, the Hikawa Shrine. The mid-afternoon sun was boring down on her now but oddly enough, it didn't bother her like before. Her real exhaustion came from the knowledge of what she'd have to do when she got settled. Never before had she dreaded chores as much as she did now…

Closing in on the top of the stairs, she heard her grandfather laughing. Odd. There were no girls screaming this time, so he hadn't been up to his old antics an it was good news for them both – she didn't have the energy to punt him into the sky today.

A few caws alerted her to her twin crows, Phobos and Deimos that resided on top of the Tori Gate that led to the shrine. Both of the black birds were watching her like hawks and seemed tense. That would seem odd to anyone else but Rei knew from an early age that these birds were special and she treated them as her own. If they were tense, something was up.

"…really? I find that hard to believe."

A new voice stopped her cold. She knew that voice…but from where?

As she finally reached the top, she saw a surprising sight; her diminutive grandfather was standing next to a young man around her age with curly blond hair and clear blue eyes. Said blond was aiming a challenging smirk down at the elder as the old man laughed.

"No, no it's true! Ayumi I think her name was…finest lass I ever saw! And a great rump too!"

Rei felt a vein bulge in her head. Her grandfather was up to his old antics it seemed and since there wasn't any girls around, he was sharing his perverted stories with this newcomer. "Grandpa…"

Both men flinched and turned to regard her, the smile on her grandfather's face brightening while the young man's smirk vanished…briefly. "Rei dear! I'd like you meet our new chore boy!"

Rei felt her eye twitch, but her heart suddenly sped up as the young man walked up to her, smirk still in place.

"And who might you be, fair maiden," the blond questioned with a gleam in his eyes.

"Hino," she answered flatly, ignoring the way his gaze made her heart do backflips. "Hino Rei." Then he did something nobody had done in a long time. He took her hand with surprising gentleness and held it up to his lips. "A-and you are?"

"Ishikawa," he said and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, his eyes flicking back up to her, "Ishikawa Ryuuji. A pleasure."

Her heart thundered in her ears and heat boiled in her cheeks as she held this man's gaze. There was something in those eyes…something that drew her in…like she wanted to drown-

"Great to see you two getting along so well," her grandfather butted in boisterously, allowing Rei to tear her eyes and her hand from the man. "He's quite impressive isn't he?"

Yes, was her heart's answer. But her mind was firmly in control of her speech as she huffed, "I'll reserve my judgment when I see how much work he can handle," she retorted, adding with a bit of a wicked smile, "and today should be perfect. My studies will keep me bogged down for the night, so now would be a great time to get a start on your work."

That made the smirk vanish completely from Ishikawa's face and made her pride swell. That'll teach him to tease her like that!

"What a splendid idea," the head priest exclaimed and grabbed the blond by his arm, dragging him toward the temple despite his protests.

Rei waited until they were both out of sight then held up her hand, the one that had been kissed. Her cheeks flamed again at the feeling of his lips on her skin… She shook her head wildly. "ARGH! What's wrong with me?! One handsome guy comes along and I turn into a puddle." She paused, silence taking over for a few minutes before she groaned. "I need a bath…a long, cold bath."

* * *

Night soon fell, and with it so did Jadeite into the warm futon. His muscles were rioting for the ordeal they'd been put through, all to earn that little hermit's trust – but he'd done it. And now he could rest…

But rest did not come to him, because his mind was haunted by the vision of the girl from earlier… Rei, he recalled. It was beneath him to worry about some stupid girl, but she felt different from the others. And he'd be lying if he didn't find the challenge of thawing her heart enticing.

"Jadeite." He stiffened when that voice filtered through his ears, and just like that all of his weariness was gone.

"Yes, my Queen?"

"Why have you not begun your harvest of the humans yet? Our leader grows impatient."

Jadeite forced back a groan, wiping his forehead with his arm. "Apologies, majesty, but the trust of the humans is fickle at best. I needed to work my way into their confidence and now that I have, I will begin immediately come morning."

"You had better," she hissed, and he winced. "Metaria is not as forgiving as I am." And with that she was gone, leaving the blond to his own thoughts once more.

He frowned. None of this would've been necessary if that Moon Brat and her little friend kept their noses out of his affairs! Now here he was forced to work like some dog in order to carry out another harvest that they would soon try to foil.

'Let them try,' he thought darkly.

He reached into his pocket and removed the bright red gem once again, admiring its sheen in the pale moonlight. What was it about this little thing that fascinated him so? Jewels were Zoisite's penchant, not his. So why-

The gem flashed suddenly, and he dropped it with a hiss, clutching his hand. His eyes slowly widened when he saw that they were bright red, as if…they were burned. He looked down at the gem again as it glittered innocently in his lap, but there was something else too. It was faint but he could see something inside it now, a symbol…

What did it mean?

* * *

With a gasp, Rei sat up in bed breathing hard clutching the covers to her chest. Her body felt hot not unlike when she became sick, but she didn't feel ill. What was going on with her?

Sliding out of bed, she made her way out of her room down the hall to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Her heart was still hammering from before, but maybe the Fire would help her calm down. Nightmares had no chance when she had that.

As she rounded the corner, she heard a sharp hiss of breath making her halt mid-step. Her eyes widened when she saw Ishikawa standing there running his hands under the faucet, a pained grimace contorting his handsome features.

She blushed a bit at that thought but shook it away. "Are you ok?" She watched as his back went ramrod straight, a sharp gaze settling on her that made her freeze until it settled into an easy smile.

"Ah don't mind me, what are you doing up, Hino-san?"

She frowned at his obvious redirection but her attention was directed towards the redness of his hands. Had he been burned? "What happened to your hands?"

"I was making some tea but spilled some of it," was his excuse. "Was there something you needed?"

She didn't know what possessed her right then to walk over, but she did and she saw how bad the burns were. She took his soaking hands in hers, examining the burns closer before he gave him a glare. "These need to be dressed, wait here." He didn't have a chance to protest before she was back with the first-aid kit, and dragged him by the sleeve to the table, planting herself down on his right side.

"It's fine, you really don't have to-"

"What did you do, pick up the kettle with your bare hands?" Her hands fumbled around in the medical kit until she pulled out some gauze and peroxide, setting them on the table in front of them. "Honestly, these are bad, how did you get them?"

"Why do you care?" That question brought her actions to a halt as she found herself locked in a battle of wills with him again, only this time he was winning. "I'm just some stranger. You have no reason to help me…so why?" Strangely enough, he didn't sound angry…more confused, puzzled than anything. As if her actions truly left him at a loss.

Wordlessly, she took his hands and grabbed the bottle of peroxide, spilling some over his hands making him hiss. "Hold still, this will help," she ordered and this time, he listened. She poured a bit more then began wrapping his hands in gauze, focusing all of her attention on her task rather than the man she was dangerously close to. "There, finished."

Silence reigned for a few moments before Rei stood up and made her way to the sink, grabbing a glass so she could fill with water. "You're right," she finally said, gathering his attention. "You are a stranger and I shouldn't care what happens to you."

"So why then?"

Rei opened her mouth to respond but stopped when she herself realized that even she didn't understand why. "I don't know," she admitted, downing the glass in one gulp before she left the room, feeling very awkward all of a sudden.

Why did she help him? She didn't know…and that terrified her.


	3. Chapter 3: Friend and Foe

**(50 views already? Wow. You guys are great! And don't worry about any quotas to hit; I write this story so you, the readers, can enjoy it. Whether you like or hate it, it's entirely up to you. But I hope you do like some measure of it. Anyways, here's the next installment. Enjoy!)**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters belong to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.

* * *

The temple was packed with people by the time Rei came home from school, and it was all hands on deck for this one. Normally the temple was rarely populated unless on holidays like Christmas and New Year's Eve, but business had picked up ever since its new worker had come up with quite the idea.

Love Charms. Rei snorted. Like anyone would've fallen for that old gag.

But contrary to her expectations, the temple flooded with people – mostly young girls barely into their teens who wanted to find boyfriends – and soon Hikawa Jinja was quite the destination in the city. They'd sold hundreds of the charms in a matter of days, and the tide didn't seem to recede. More and more came every day and this day appeared to be no different.

"Rei!" Her grandfather called out, a blinding grin pasted on his face, "I've got things under control here, go see if Ishikawa-kun needs any help!" The little dwarf looked like he was about to pass out surrounded as he was by all the young girls.

Rei barely – barely – resisted the urge to storm over and punt him into the sky but she did give the girls a few warning signs, getting a few to back off. She stomped off toward the other stall where she found a similar scene taking place, but this one irritated her even more.

Setting aside his quote unquote "change of pace", the blond man had gathered a crowd of his own composed of nothing but young school girls that had hearts in their eyes whenever he looked at them. Some even swooned.

The crowd saw her coming and then the glares kicked in, but she was unfazed. She confidently made her way over to the stall and stepped inside, sidling up next to the blond who stiffened slightly but relaxed when he realized it was her. "Grandfather sent me here."

"Considering how swamped he is up there, I thought he'd want some crowd control," he remarked with a bit of a smirk.

Rei huffed. "Not likely. He's in heaven right now. The old perv should count himself lucky I'm not sending him into the stratosphere right now."

As the crowd started to thin out a bit, due to Rei's presence no doubt, the two settled into a comfortable silence. It had been a few days since their night encounter in the kitchen and none of them had brought it up since. Rei had done everything in her power to keep from being alone with this man, and for the most part he'd left her be. But it was one thing to give her peace – now it felt like he was ignoring her.

And she did not like to be ignored.

But if there was one thing she had learned about Ryuuji Ishikawa in the last few days, it's that when he wanted to keep to himself he did. The man was impossible to read and that aggravated her more than she cared to admit. She didn't know why he rattled her so much and to be honest the way he made her heart race made her more than a little nervous. And while it wasn't a bad feeling…

…she didn't trust him. The man was an enigma to her, a puzzle that was waiting to be solved and until she could figure where the pieces went, she'd keep him at arm's length – but just that.

* * *

Jadeite tried to keep focused on his task, but it was difficult with the girl standing next to him. Her actions from the night before were not forgotten and more than anything she puzzled him. She had no reason to help him but she did – why? There was nothing for her to gain; humans only lent a hand when they had something to gain…yet this girl had reached out without receiving anything in return. It baffled him.

But it wouldn't matter soon. The plan was already in motion. The charms that they been selling over the week had been doing their job, and already a sizeable amount of energy had been gathered although it still wasn't enough. Beryl wouldn't accept such a meager amount in her eyes.

Still, he was making progress and there had been no sign of Sailor Moon and Mercury since the harvest had begun. Normally they foiled his scheme within a day or two, but this one had gone on for almost an entire week!

So…why was he still on edge?

"I'm telling you Usagi-chan, these charms are a sure way to find us boyfriends!"

"Oh come on Naru! You can't really believe in that junk."

There two chattering voices belonged to two more girls walking up towards the stall, one a petite redhead and the other a pig-tailed blond with hair that went on to ludicrous lengths. Both were lost in their own little world as they made their up to the stall.

Jadeite's eyes widened slightly as he recognized the redhead – it was the same one from the Crown Jewelry harvest that had been foiled weeks ago by Sailor Moon and that stalker of hers. That had been a significant blow to his plans and all others after that were failure after failure. His fists clenched as his anger began to ebb.

But the girl that was with her was an oddity, as if he'd seen her before and yet hadn't…Strange. That hairstyle of hers was unique and of all the girls that had been here over the week, none of them had that kind of style or that long for that matter.

Of the two, only one of them had an enormous amount of energy. The redhead, having been drained recently, was only barely emitting any so she wouldn't be a viable target. Her friend on the other hand… Jadeite had to resist the urge to wipe his eyes. Her energy practically blanketed her! The girl alone would be well equal to the amounts he'd already gathered.

He allowed a small grin to surface on his face.

Yes, she would be perfect for his plans. Now all he had to do was-

All of a sudden, he felt a shift to his side and a blur raced past his vision, rocketing out of the stall. It was Rei going top speed toward to the approaching girls, shouting something about evil spirits. Then, he watched as the girl pulled out one of those charms of hers that he'd seen her use once on her grandfather and paste it into the blonde's forehead, the pig-tailed girl toppling like a tower made of blocks, legs sticking up like a dead insect.

Were it not for what he was seeing, he would've laughed. But now there was something else; something that made him look at the priestess in a whole different way. The very same energy that had been emitting from the blonde was now enveloping Rei, only less dense.

His grin returned this time wider than before.

Interesting…

* * *

Rei was mortified.

The temple grounds had long been cleared out by now, but she still couldn't believe the mistake she'd made. The girl she had tagged with her ofuda was clearly not the source of the energy she'd felt – not the one that spelled calamity anyway. But it had been there and it had been close too. But it wasn't either of those girls…certainly not that blonde that she had felt a weird connection to, but who could that have left?

She sighed. Today just wasn't her day it seemed. First the pot she'd been tending to in cooking class had over-boiled and now this; maybe she was going nuts…

"I need some air," she said and stood up, sliding on her robes to go for a walk. The nightly breeze often helped her mind unwind when she was stressed like this. As she stepped out of her room, she spotted Ishikawa walking down the hall toward the front door. Odd, she'd never seen him about like this, not since that night from before. "Where are you going?"

He froze, his back going rigid but he didn't say anything at first. "Just for a walk," was his answer before he started to move again, carrying on towards the door.

Rei pursed her lips, weighing her options. On one hand, she didn't trust the man but at the same time she wanted to keep him in her sights – for what reason she didn't know yet. But he wasn't getting away from her that easy. So she followed him.

She trailed him out of the temple grounds and down the steps toward the bus stop. Why was he going there? She concealed herself within the shrubbery, watching as he stood around as if waiting for something…or someone.

'This is ridiculous,' she thought to herself. 'Why am I hiding from him? I'm not afraid of him.'

The roar of an engine came from around the bend and soon enough, the bus rolled up to the curb and looked full to capacity…but Rei felt something wrong the minute she probed it with her senses. That very same evil aura she felt earlier was blanketing it and it made her stomach turn just being near it.

Looking back to the blond man, she noted how…unaffected he looked and remained impassive as the doors slid open, a snake-like voice coming from within.

"My Lord. All sssspeccccimenssss accounted for."

"You're late," Ishikawa barked with a glare. "Is this all you could gather? This measly amount will have to be tripled before the night is over. The Queen won't accept this."

Whatever it was that this man had said or done in that moment caused something inside Rei to snap. However brave or foolish it was, she burst from the bushes and roared, "ISHIKAWA!" The way he calmly turned toward her should've sent off warning bells in her mind, but she was too energized to notice. "What is the meaning of this? What are you doing with these people?!"

"Ah, Rei, right on time," he said and the next second, he was in front of her. She stumbled back only to be grabbed roughly by one hand and held there easily. Her eyes widened. What WAS he? "This isn't exactly how I hoped our little farewell would go about, but I suppose this is better than simply draining you dry."

Draining…her dry?

"Let…me go," she ordered, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

He smirked. "Sorry, no can do. But don't worry. After your little nap, this will all be a thing of the past." And with that, he tapped her temple with a single finger and everything went black.

* * *

The effect was instant; she fell into his arms as he hoisted her up in a princess carry. She was lighter than he imagined…

"My Lord?"

"Don't bother me, Kigaan," Jadeite snapped. This was what he should do. This is what he had to do…so why did it feel so wrong? "Start the bus. We're leaving."


	4. Chapter 4: Senshi

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters belong to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.

* * *

Her head pounded and her muscles ached, one hand flying up to her temples as she hissed. Rei growled at the pain, slowly sitting up as she tried to regain her bearings. Immediately she realized two things:

She wasn't at the bus stop anymore, and there was no sign of that blond jerk. "Ishikawa…when I get my hands on you…"

"Is that what he's calling himself now?"

Rei yelped at the sudden voice, whirling around to find a raven-haired woman in a strange outfit sitting in a chair next to her. Her hair covered most of her face save for her mouth which was fixed into a secret smile of sorts. "Who…are you," she asked warily, looking around briefly. "And where am I?"

"For the first question, you should already know; as for the second…well, we're in your mind for the now."

Rei flopped back onto the bed. "Great. So why am I here?"

The woman crossed her legs and folded her arms over her chest before she spoke again. "Well, I suppose apart from the obvious, it would be time for you to understand a few things."

Rei felt her frustration raise at all the cryptic banter. What was this woman getting at? "And those are…?"

"You have a destiny about you, Hino Rei." That got her attention. She sat up and eyed the woman with a dubious look. "I know it sounds weird – goddess only knows how strange it was when I first heard it. But it's the truth as you will soon find out."

"Let me guess: I'm some queen that is destined to rule the cosmos with an iron fist, right?" The woman was silent. Rei's eyes widened. "You're kidding!"

The woman smiled wider. "Had you there for a minute, didn't I?" Rei huffed and the woman laughed briefly before her tone became grave. "No, but there is a queen who plans on doing just that and we have to stop her. She's killed countless to get where she is and now she wants to end your world or rule it. The only ones who can stop her are the Sailor Senshi, and _you_ are one of them."

Rei just stared at this woman incredulously. Was she serious? Her, a warrior that was destined to stop some evil queen? Her life wasn't a fairy-tale! This had to be some trick.

"It isn't," the woman responded to her thoughts making Rei start. "War is coming whether you like it or not, Hino Rei. You can either let it come and destroy the world as you know it, or you can stand up and fight for what is right."

Rei swallowed hard. "But, I'm just an ordinary girl, a priestess at best. I'm no warrior. I can't-"

"Don't you want to get back at him?"

Rei's eyes widened as she shot a glare at the woman who for the first time looked angry. "Do you know him?"

"…once," her voice was quiet, but filled with raw emotion that made even Rei's heart clench. "I don't recognize the monster he's become."

"So…what am I supposed to do? Even if I wanted to fight, how do I stand against something like him?"

"Your time is fast approaching where you will have to make a choice," the woman said, and immediately after there was a flash that made Rei jump. "Looks like it's time. We will not speak like this again so I will leave you with this: trust your instincts, and don't ever forget that you have a heart." She paused, then snapped her fingers as if remembering something, "Oh, and one more thing: when you see him again, make sure to sock him a good one for me, ne?"

And like that, the veil was lifted and Rei saw the face of the woman – of _herself_. The light grew and enveloped her, whisking her back to the world she knew best and at the same time didn't.

* * *

The ball of white milky energy hovered in his palm, casting his face into an ominous glow. It was hard to look at it at times, like someone staring at a light bulb or even the sun. And where all other times Jadeite would've done this without a care, something nagging like regret tickled his soul.

He shoved it back as far as it could go to look out into his own personal playground; dozens of buses filled to the brim with school girls floated aimlessly as if submerged in water. The energy that had been gathered from them would be enough to satisfy the Queen, and he'd already sent off his portion to keep Beryl off his back. She'd be pleased, no doubt, maybe enough to get back into her good graces…

But that was the furthest thing from his mind right now. The energy he was holding wasn't belonging to any of the school girls, but instead to the slumbering miko in the backseat of the bus. She'd been like this for almost several hours since their little altercation at the bus stop and had yet to stir even once, even after he ripped the energy out of her. It surprised him even now how potent it was, how compact and dense he found it to be. This energy didn't belong to normal humans – this girl was special.

Thoughts and ideas began to swirl in his mind as of late, foolish thoughts but ones he couldn't help but entertain. He toyed with the idea of taking her back to the Dark Kingdom to become one of them, specifically an agent under his command. The girl had attracted him from the moment he laid eyes on her for the strangest of reasons, but her actions had confused him enough to keep her at a distance. She was not like the others that was for sure; she would make an excellent addition if she could be made to see-

Rei groaned, her brows coming together as her eyes fluttered. Slowly her amethyst orbs rolled over to locate him, staring blankly at him before a familiar fire entered her eyes. "You…"

Jadeite turned towards her still holding the energy in his palm, smirking a bit. "Rise and shine sleeping beauty. Enjoy your nap?" For some reason, he couldn't resist provoking her. That anger of hers was…enticing.

"If I had any strength right now I'd kick your ass across the Pacific."

"Oh, I'm shaking in my boots," he sneered. "I take it you remember everything?"

"Damn right I do, and now are you going to tell me who the hell your really are?"

"Now where's the fun in that," the blond general laughed. "No, I'll just keep you guessing."

She glared even harder at him for that, but she knew she couldn't win against him as she was so she sat up and crossed her legs, folding her arms across her chest – a stance of defiance if he ever saw it. Not that it would matter.

Just then, a portal opened and another bus came through, but Jadeite could sense something off about this one. He probed the bus for the various energies, finding nothing but average sources except-

There! That energy! That was impossible! How could those two have gotten in here?!

"Damn it," he growled.

"Something wrong," Rei chimed in with a smirk.

Jadeite willed away the ball of energy as he stepped out of the bus then shut it behind him with powers. Looking down he could see those two damnable Senshi facing off against his youma. Good, they were distracted. All he had to do was-

"Heads up Blondie!"

Jadeite barely avoided a swipe of the cane that belonged to his masked rival, a snarl forming on his face as he glared. "Oh great, you're here too?!"

* * *

It took Rei all she had to get to the front of the bus, trying to get the doors to open. She refused to be trapped like this! Ishikawa or whoever he really was wouldn't get away from her wrath so easily. All she had to do was get the bloody doors to open and then…

And then what…? He was beyond her level, as he'd already demonstrated and that was just to knock her out! If he actually tried to hurt her…

"Nyaa."

Rei jumped at the sound as if a mouse had run across her feet, looking down at something she didn't expect – a cat, one with a crescent moon bald spot. "Uh…hello? How did you get on here?" Then she noticed something was in the cat's mouth – a pen? "How did you get this? And why-?"

The second her fingers brushed the pen's surface, her mind exploded into light as words never before uttered came unbidden without end.

Duty. Warrior. Guardian. Serenity. _Princess_.

Rei's eyes widened drastically as the knowledge flooded into her brain, visions and flashes of a beautiful kingdom on…the Moon? What? How was that even possible?

"You remember," a soft voice uttered. Rei looked down in shock to find the same cat smiling up at her. "We need you, Mars. _They_ need you."

Anyone else would've cast all of this off as a bad dream, anyone else would've run… But Rei wasn't like anyone else, she never had been and now she knew why. Determination set in as she gripped the pen tightly, holding it up above her head. Ancient knowledge flooded her brain and brought four words to the surface.

"Mars Power, Make up!"

* * *

Jadeite deflected another swipe from Tuxedo Kamen's cane, parrying each strike with his dagger expertly. He didn't like using the damned thing since it was a coward's weapon – right up Zoisite's alley – but it came in handy here. The masked crusader was strong, perhaps stronger than him but he was woefully inept when it came to experience. It was only a matter of time before he overwhelmed him.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama!"

Jadeite growled, glaring down at the approaching Senshi, the Moon brat in particular as she readied her tiara. That blasted thing! Morgana was destroyed by it as had the others, but that flimsy thing was nothing to him. But his concentration was divided this time. If it hit him, there was no telling what it could do.

Suddenly, two things happened at once; the bus above him exploded into fire, the one that had been holding Rei within. Panic set in but immediately after the explosion, a blast of fire shot out at incredible speeds and engulfed him like a bird devouring its prey, sending him crashing to the ground. Flames dominated his world for a few moments before he blew them away with his powers glaring up at the one responsible.

His jaw dropped.

Standing high above on one of the floating buses was a figure clad in the tell-tale uniform of a Sailor Senshi, the difference from the other two being her shoes were ruby red high heels that could end killing a man. His gaze went up past her shapely legs to her face, the determination and anger in her eyes forcing him back a step.

That face… He _knew_ that face.

"Sailor Mars."

Said Senshi looked down at him balefully with folded arms across her chest, amethyst eyes locked with his. Then, she smiled. "Hello Jadeite. Miss me?"

* * *

Skeletal fingers clenched and flexed as its owner glared hard into her crystal ball, ruby red eyes narrowed to slits. She hissed. "NO! Those damnable Sailor Brats! They will ruin EVERYTHING!"

This was unprecedented. Unacceptable! Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury were but minor annoyances up until now as they were just two Senshi with no real power.

Sailor Mars was a completely different story. In the Silver Millennium, she was one of the Moon's best warriors, hailed as its best archer and a literal goddess when it came to controlling fire and heat. But for all of that, there was one very frightening aspect of her that made even the great Queen Beryl tremble in fear…

She and Jadeite had once been in love. A tempestuous relationship to be sure, but one that they had made work. Of the Senshi, she was perhaps the most troublesome. It had taken a long time to break Jadeite because of his love for the wretched flame seer, and it was only in recent years that she had all but rid him of her memory.

But now things were critical. If actions were not taken swiftly enough, everything she had worked for would begin to topple and she would NOT allow that happen.

"Tethys!"

A tornado of water appeared in front of her, revealing the blue-haired woman. "You summoned me, my Queen-"

"Go to Jadeite, retrieve him immediately!"

Tethys for the first time looked hesitant. "B-but my lady, you said-"

Beryl's eyes glowed malevolently as a dark aura draped her body. "I am rescinding the order, now go! Time is of the essence! Complete your objective or so help me **I WILL REND YOU AT YOUR CORE**!"

The youma did not need another explanation and set off through one of her whirlpool gates.

Beryl returned her attention to her crystal ball, watching the scene playing out before her with a feeling she'd not experienced in over a thousand years:

Fear.

* * *

The power that ran through her veins was indescribable! She felt as though she take on the whole universe! Sure the outfit was a little over the top but yet it fit her like a glove, and she felt more at home in it than even her priestess clothes. She held up one white-gloved hand and let her energy surge to that point, still marveling at the way a flicker of fire came to life in her palm.

This was what that woman had meant; this was her birthright.

"Sailor Mars!" She looked down and her expression softened as she spotted two others dressed similarly as her, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury.

Sailor Mars looked back toward the man she had previously known as Ryuuji Ishikawa, now revealed to be called Jadeite, noting how…uneasy he looked. The fear that lingered in his eyes brought a sick sense of satisfaction to her. Good. Now he understood what it felt like to be on the other end of the spectrum. "I see you've been busy, General." With a leap, she let herself float down to the level where he was, landing with a click-clack. "Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way, let's get to it," she held up a flame-lit hand for emphasis.

Jadeite held her gaze for a long moment before his face shifted, and his hand reached into his pocket.

Mars tensed, ready for anything but watched as he pulled out something that took her breath away – her gem! He had it? But why did he-

Suddenly, the jewel flew out of his fingers and towards her like a bullet, slowing down as it came near her. Her free hand reached out to stroke it as it made its way to the center of her chest, planting itself there with a soft click. The moment that happened, her energy sky-rocketed and her flames became almost too bright to look at.

But none of that mattered to her, not with what she was now realizing. All of those dreams, those visions, the way she felt connected to him the moment she met him… It all made sense now!

Jadeite. He wasn't just her enemy; he was once precious to her, and in a way he still was…which made her anger return.

She glared at him with more force than ever before as she began to make her way toward him, both of her fists now coated with flames. "You and I need to have a talk."

"Get away from him!"

A pillar of water slammed into her path, forcing her to leap back to avoid being smashed. The others ran up next to her, but Mars' gaze was fixed on the figure that now stood in front of Jadeite.

"Tethys?! Why are you-"

"I'm sorry my lord, but the Queen asked me to intervene," the youma apologized, her face softening as she looked at him. "We have to go."

"You are not going anywhere," Mars snarled. But the whirlpool gate was already activating. "GET BACK HERE," she roared, unleashing a column of flames at the wall of water.

But all the flames did was create a thick cloud of steam – Jadeite and Tethys were gone.

A deep, gnawing feeling closed around her heart as she lowered her arms, clenching her fists to her sides. Rage bubbled up within her, threatening to burst out and unleash hell-

"Mars?" At the sound of that voice, her anger evaporated like puddles on a sunny day. Sailor Moon gave her a concerned expression but then she smiled, "It's ok. It's not over."

The raven-haired Senshi nodded, forcing back the tears she wanted to shed. She was right, this was far from over. Forcing a smile onto her face, she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Umm, right, so sorry about putting that ofuda on you earlier."

The Moon Senshi looked at her weirdly for a moment before her face exploded with anger. "No way! YOU'RE HER?!"

"Um, did I miss something," Mercury asked with tilt of her head, trying to butt in.

Below them, Luna just sighed.

* * *

Why?

Of all the questions, all the thoughts that ran through his head now, the feelings that were now in a bloody conflict within him, they all came back to that single question.

Why did that girl feel so familiar to him? Why did she seem to know him? Why did she…seem so sad earlier? Angry yes, but also disappointed. _Why_? Who was she…who was she to _him_?

"My lord?" He looked up and saw Tethys standing there, her head bowed respectfully. "The Queen has summoned you."

Jadeite slowly rose from the bed of his quarters where, upon arriving back in the throne room, he had been quarantined for no specific reason apart from Beryl's orders. He'd been like this for the last several hours and it was only now that she was granting him a chance for answers.

She better have a damned good explanation for imprisoning him like this.

Tethys whisked them away to the throne room where both she and Jadeite paid their respects to the Queen across the chamber, waiting for her to speak.

"Jadeite, do you know who that Senshi is," Beryl asked in a strange tone, one that had his hairs standing on end.

Conflicted as he was, he decided to stick with the facts. "She is Sailor Mars, one of the Guardian Senshi of the Moon Princess like Sailor Mercury and Sailor Moon." If there was anything more to her than that, then he would soon find out.

Beryl was silent for a few long moments before her raspy voice went out. "You are correct, but more than that she is something else, but first let me ask: do you recall how you died in the Silver Millennium?"

Jadeite paled. THAT had been a constant source of his nightmares as a child, the feeling of being burned alive with nothing to save him. Did Mars have something to do with that? "Vaguely…"

Beryl grinned, leaning forward until even from where he was standing, he could see the malevolent glee in her eyes. "Then allow me to shed some light on the subject. She was the one who personally saw to your demise during the collapse. Perhaps she thought it fitting considering how she had used you…"

Used him… She had _used_ him.

Jadeite's fists tightened. "Used me," he growled out, and he heard Tethys step back with a gasp. The energy was swirling within him along with the rage that was beginning to build. "For what?"

Beryl leaned back, gesturing flippantly, "To increase her status of course! You were quite the unachievable commodity back in the day, my old friend. Women from around the globe would try to woo you but you never gave in…until she came along. You fell quite easily, sad to say, and she proceeded to wrap you around her little finger until you were completely under her spell. Then, when the end came, her betrayal would come as a complete surprise and would best you, her greater."

"I was…greater than her," he asked, his throat all of a sudden dry.

"Indeed; her superior in every way. You were Terra's greatest weapon master and she was just some temperamental seer that took a fancy to you. She used her wiles to get you to drop your guard and when the time came, when you believed she could do no wrong to you, she cast you aside like a broken toy."

Jadeite's stomach dropped. He felt sick, cheated… _violated_. "Was that really all I was to her…? A cheap lay?"

"I'm afraid so, my friend," Beryl told him in what he thought was a soothing tone. "But things are different. _You_ are different. You are stronger and this time, she has none of the status she coveted. She is but a simple girl and when you find her-"

"I'LL CRUSH HER," Jadeite roared, his aura flaring causing many of the youma in the chamber to hiss and howl.

Beryl, evil bitch that she was, just smiled.


	5. Chapter 5: Lines Drawn

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters belong to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.

* * *

Hikawa Jinja was strangely deserted after the chaotic clamor before but that was normal; the popularity it had accumulated was nothing but part of a plot by Jadeite to gather the proverbial lambs to the slaughter. In addition all of the missing students had been returned home to their distraught parents and loved ones, and none of them ever had memory of what they'd been through. Perhaps it had been for the best; few, if any, would've believed them.

But now the temple was without its extra hand and that left Rei feeling lonely for enough reasons, ones that she was still coming to terms with. The memories of her past life were coming slowly, gradually and she could now remember that she lived on the planet of her namesake during what Luna had called the "Silver Millennium." There were other things but above all of them, he stood out like a sore thumb.

It was hard to believe at certain times that the very same person she had nearly killed before had turned out to be the one who she had l… considered close in the Silver Millennium. She couldn't say that she felt the same way she had about him, not after what he had done. But she wasn't about to simply give up on him either. But until she was able to find him again, there were more important things to worry about.

Once her chores were finished – and her usual workload had increased since her grandfather was feeling ill at the moment – the others were scheduled to come over for a meeting to strategize and plan. The Dark Kingdom had been strangely quiet since the bus plot as Usagi or the "Odango" had so bluntly put it. The latter hadn't lost much sleep over it, but Rei knew better and she had a feeling things were going to come to a head again, and soon.

And one way or another, she'd have to face Jadeite again. Would she really be able to talk him into hearing her out, or would he try and kill her?

Her sweeping stopped.

That notion made her heart clench painfully. Senshi or not, she didn't think she had it in her to actually hurt the one she cared about, not unless he gave her a significant reason to – and she earnestly hoped he wouldn't give her one. But right now she had to face facts: he was the enemy, and as long as he threatened the world in which she and the rest of them lived, he was _her_ enemy.

She clutched the broom tighter. A fluttering of wings and two weights settling onto her shoulder alerted her to the two crows that had perched themselves on her body, the two birds nuzzling her. She started to giggle, "Ok, ok you two knock it off!" Her smile didn't last though, her mood becoming pensive again. "I know what I have to do, but is it really worth what I'll lose?"

The birds were incapable of speech so they merely nuzzled her again, allowing a ghost of her smile to return.

Rei could hear the obnoxious chattering of the pig-tailed blonde from nearby along with the cool, rational tones of the bluenette. She took a deep breath, "Well, I suppose there's no time like the present," she murmured before she walked over to greet the others.

 **Trust your instincts, but never forget you have a heart.**

Those words were reminder of both her duty and what was at stake. And she did not intend to lose.

* * *

"Again."

Tethys pursed her lips but did as she was ordered, creating another aqua doll in the shape of the Fire Senshi. She watched as once more, it was blown apart by Jadeite's ferocious energy blasts, not leaving puddles of water behind. She'd been doing this for some hours now ever since she'd found the blond Shitennou here, and now she was beginning to worry.

Some would think it impossible for youma to care – but she did, and deeply so when it came to Jadeite. Beryl had entrusted him to her when they had found his reincarnation in this life and for the next several years she had both trained and nurtured him. In ways he was like a child to her, but that was when he was younger…

Now he was a strong, powerful and arguably incredibly handsome young man. Youma or not, she was still a woman and very much attracted to what he presented, hence why she was worried about his current state.

Queen Beryl was her overlord but even Tethys didn't completely agree with her methods. Tricking the Shitennou into believing his lover had never felt the same about him was perhaps the wise course of action to combating the Senshi…but lying to Jadeite felt wrong. She was bound by silence though; she couldn't tell him even if she wanted to.

…and she'd be lying to herself if she wasn't a little satisfied that Jadeite was still "hers" for the time being.

"Again," Jadeite ordered, a thick sheen of sweat coating his brow.

"My lord," she began slowly, "perhaps you should take a rest for the time being. You've been at this for several hours now and your body-"

"I've lived through worse than this little workout, Tethys," the blond cut her off with a glare. "I have to be in top condition when I face that wretched Fire Senshi again. I can't let myself be taken by surprise again." He held up one hand, letting a bit of dark energy manifest until it was crackling in his palm. "That little bitch is going to pay for toying with me, both then and now."

Tethys chewed her lip. She had to say something. Despite what he had said, she could see how his body nearly buckled whenever he launched his strikes. She-

"Tethys," Beryl's voice entered her mind. It was both an acknowledgement and an order.

Reluctantly, she left the Shitennou to his training and appeared before the Queen, curtsying. "Yes, my Queen?"

"Your feelings for my Shitennou are becoming troublesome." Beryl's beady red eyes bored into hers as they narrowed. "I entrusted you with his well-being, not his happiness. You are to take care of him, not feel for him."

"Even at the cost of letting him destroy his body," Tethys questioned hotly, surprising even herself by her boldness.

An uncomfortable silence stretched out afterwards mitigated only by the low growls and hisses of the youma horde lying in the shadows.

"However…attached you have become of my Shitennou, remember one thing, Tethys," Beryl hissed, her eyes casting a predatory gleam as she smirked. "At the end of it all, he and his brothers are but pawns in the grand scheme of things. They are instrumental in breaking the Senshi at their cores and Jadeite will do just that once Mars understands he is lost to her – she _will_ fall first. Then the little genius will go next when Zoisite returns. Then all that will be left will be the Moon brat."

"What of the rest of the Senshi," the blue-haired woman questioned, swallowing a bit. "If…if Sailor Mars returned, what makes you believe that the others aren't set to awaken?"

Beryl's voice turned dark as she leaned forward, "You will look after my Shitennou, Tethys. That is all you will do, that is all you are meant to do, and that is what I expect you to do. Now get out of my sight."

Never before had she wanted to speak out so badly, but she wisely kept her tongue. Jadeite still needed her. With one final curtsy, she fled the chamber and returned to the one where Jadeite had been training. What she found caused her to sigh.

The youngest of the Shitennou was lying on the floor unconscious, as if he had just passed out from exhaustion. From the redness of his face, he must've only just lost it when she left before.

Tethys walked over, white gloved hands reaching out to brush back some of his bangs, one hand lingering on his cheek. Her heart ached. She sat down beside him, took his head and laid it in her lap, beginning to sing softly to him as she had done when he was a child.

The Dark Kingdom was the future of this world but if he wasn't there to share it with her, then it wasn't a future she was sure she wanted.

* * *

"So…," Usagi looked between both of her friends, scratching her head, "there are three others like Jadeite?"

Rei nodded. Being the only one of their group with real memories of their past lives, she took the lead when it came to these topics. She'd just finished telling them about the fall of the Silver Millennium with Luna chiming in at certain points to fill in some blanks, and now the view had shifted to their new enemies once allies.

"Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite and Kunzite," Ami ratted off, her voice softening slightly as she said the third. "The Four Heavenly Kings of Earth, Shitennou."

"They were Earth's finest warriors and the personal guard of Earth's crown prince, Endymion," told them, digging through what she now knew in her mind. It wasn't easy; there were still some memories that were incomplete, fragmented – as if the other pieces were elsewhere. "Basically, they were what we were to the Moon Princess."

But for all of her memories, she still couldn't make out the identity of Serenity, their charge. She could feel the princess energy whenever they were close together but whenever she probed Ami or Usagi, she came up nill. It was maddening!

"And…where is this prince now," the blonde girl asked meekly, a bit of red in her cheeks.

The priestess hid a smile behind her teacup. That, on the other hand, was easy.

Terrans had never been good at concealing their magical aura – perhaps it was a pride thing or something – and it made them rather easy to read even in this age. The same went for Tuxedo Kamen AKA Prince Endymion of Earth, in the flesh. Just how Beryl hadn't figured this out was beyond her but it played well to their advantage.

"So…what do we do about Jadeite, then," the odango asked the dreaded question. Rei stiffened. "If…if he was an ally of ours, couldn't we, I don't know, get him on our side?"

How many times had Rei asked herself that since that day? She had been so close! And then Tethys had to come along and ruin EVERYTHING! Now Jadeite was back in Beryl's filthy, slimy-

"REI!" The cry startled the priestess out of her dark musings as she looked down at her hands, finding them soaking with hot tea. Her anger must've ignited her powers and made the cup boil over. Ami gave her a concerned look as did Usagi. "Are you ok?"

"Fine," she mumbled, dabbing her hands with a napkin. The burns didn't hurt as much as she thought they would – the perks of being a Senshi, no doubt – but they paled when she thought about how empty her life seemed without her snarky, sometimes perverted General.

She envied the others. They didn't have to live with these feelings; Ami didn't even remember Zoisite, or at least didn't remember why she felt the way she did and Usagi… Well, it seemed history had an annoying tendency of repeating itself.

"Can we really face Jadeite, though," Ami asked, cupping her chin. "He's already demonstrated great power, power even greater than ours. And to be honest, we got lucky when Rei surprised him before. He'll be on his guard this time."

"It doesn't matter to me," Rei said as she cupped her tea in her hands, staring down into what remaining vestiges were left. "One way or another, we'll stop Jadeite and find the others. Beryl has to be stopped."

Luna leapt up onto the table from where she had been laying, "She's right, but for right now it's late and you have school tomorrow Usagi." The blonde whined in response.

Rei saw the girls out, waving until they were out of sight. Another frown appeared as she looked up at the Moon, feeling a sense of homesick like never before. But with it came a determination that fueled her inner flame.

 _No matter what, I will protect this world. And if you try to stop me, then even you, Jadeite._

* * *

The harbor was strangely quiet even at this time of night. A thick layer of fog was slowly settling in, enshrouding the area in a white blanket of nothingness. Apart from the occasional sounds of waves breaking from passing ships, the pier was eerily silent.

Then, that silence was broken by the click-clack of heels.

A shapely figure made its way through the fog, long hair billowing with each step she took as she made her way to the edge of the pier. She eventually came to the edge of the dock, looking out over the expansive Tokyo Bay with a stony expression. Then, she held her gloved hands out, a blueish aura outlining her body as inhuman features morphed on her face.

The water below her began to ripple and bend until it seemed as if something was trying to claw its way out of the depths and to the surface. The aura around her intensified until then, something massive came rising up out of the ocean.

It was a ship, far more ancient than those of the current age but it would serve its purpose. Tethys smiled.

"Now, let's get this party underway."


	6. Chapter 6: Beyond the Sea

Disclaimer: I have not and will never own, Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters belong to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.

* * *

"Chiba is such a jerk," an irate blonde was complaining as she stuffed her face full of sweets. Cupcakes, donuts and pastries alike vanished into her gaping maw as she continued to stew about a certain raven-haired college student. "What kind of guy acts like him, really? I mean today, when I tripped he stopped me from falling but then teased me for being clumsy! It wasn't my fault that I tripped, the sidewalk had holes and such all along it. Seriously it's a wonder how he manages to walk on it without falling over himself with that big brain of his he likes to throw in my face."

As the girl chattered on, across the table her raven-haired counterpart prayed to Kami to keep her from blowing her top but it was difficult. Why she had let Tsukino Usagi of all people convince her that a day on the town would be good for them was beyond her comprehension at this point – she seriously considered smacking herself for being so gullible.

' _No wonder Luna had split at the first mention of "pit stops",' she thought dryly._

Of course, she couldn't really put all of the cause of her frustration of the pig-tailed girl; her real frustrations lay with the lingering threat of a worldwide purge that was the result of Beryl's very existence, along with…other things. Perhaps she had needed a distraction, at least something to get her mind off of all the doom and gloom for a while.

Almost two weeks had passed without any sign of the Dark Kingdom or more specifically, of its lead agent. The city had seen peace for the first time in months and seemed livelier than ever before, but it didn't fool the priestess. Something nasty was brewing and it was all a waiting game now to see just what it would be.

"Rei-chan, are you even listening to me," Usagi whined.

Rei sighed. "Perhaps Chiba-san doesn't know quite how to express himself," she stated, a bit of a smirk coming to her lips as she added, "boys often have the tendency to pick on the ones they're fond of."

The blonde's face turned about as red as the strawberries on her sundae. "W-what? No way! Mamoru-baka couldn't…like me," she finished with a whisper, her eyes widening in shock. Rei was confident that the girl would be lost in her own musings for the time being – but she hadn't counted on the blonde rallying with something to counter everything she had said.

"You sure seem know a lot about this…why, are you seeing someone?"

Rei almost choked on her latte, trying to force the red from staining her cheeks.

"Aha! I knew it! So who is he? Where did you meet? Is he handsome?" A barrage of questions were launched at the defenseless priestess whose walls had taken a significant blow.

"There is no he, we didn't meet anywhere and the first and second answers should already be enough," she snapped, her heart starting to thunder. And it was the truth; she and Jadeite – did he even have a real name in this time? – had not met, at least not in this lifetime. But she wasn't quite ready for the hyper-active blonde to know that tidbit just yet. So there really wasn't a "he" per se.

" _Not yet anyway,"_ a quiet part of her whispered.

* * *

Idly stroking the staff leaning against the arm rest of her throne, Queen Beryl found herself feeling torn.

On one hand, Jadeite and Tethys were two of her best assets with the majority of the Shitennou overseas. Nephrite was due to arrive any day now but Zoisite was still helping Kunzite in Europe, in particular London where of all places a Sailor Senshi had been spotted. That left these two as her primary means of gathering energy from the humans since there was nowhere else on Earth that their energy was strongest. And they needed energy since the harvest at the temple had been halted and Metaria was growing restless again.

But on the other, there was a tiny bit of worry that Jadeite, in his newfound lust for vengeance would go rogue and hunt down Sailor Mars without her consent. Normally she would not impede the death of a Senshi but Jadeite was too valuable and to be honest, there was a very small part of Beryl herself that actually feared the Fire Senshi. Not only was she capable of making volcanoes erupt, but beneath her scorching exterior was a passionate heart that made even the strongest of opponents concede. Powerful and fierce though she was, she was no unkind and it was that same kindness that the Queen ultimately feared would lead Jadeite astray.

Of the two that stood before her, she still could rely on Tethys to carry out her orders even if she seemed against them. She was a youma and that ultimately put her under Beryl's thumb. And she hadn't been blind to see how her subordinate was leaning towards the blond Shitennou; if anyone could keep him in check, it was her.

She sighed. She was left with very little options at this point. "So tell me, Tethys, what exactly have you come up with that pertains to this…what did you call it?" The blasted word escaped the Queen's mind which annoyed her on no small levels.

"A cruise, your majesty," the youma answered, and began her explanation. "The humans often go on these to relax and unwind from their day to day lives, releasing all the pent up stress they've had growing for months perhaps years on end. The prospect of energy was too great to ignore but since I couldn't exactly hijack an entire ship without drawing attention, I appropriated my own."

"I do not see benefits of such an action. Get to the point," Beryl growled.

Tethys, to her credit, didn't even flinch. "I have already made arrangements for an announcement to be put out about an upcoming cruise that will span Tokyo Bay; the humans will be unable to resist the urge to relax at sea and will come in droves. Lord Jadeite and I will be part of the crew and oversee the operation with your blessing." Beryl still wasn't interested in the whole thing until Tethys added one little nugget that would hopefully sway her, "Also, being off-shore on a ship would prevent any of the meddlesome Senshi from trying to foil our plans."

Beryl hesitated. Some part of her considered that if even Jadeite's pocket dimension could be breached, then what good would a ship do to prevent the Senshi from interfering? It was risky and while Beryl wanted to take things at a steady pace, they were running out of time. Metaria's patience grew thinner by the day and that rate only increased with no steady supply of energy.

Much as she wanted to say no, it was out of her hands. "Very well, but let me make something clear to you both," her voice lowered as her eyes began to glow, "if for whatever reason you suspect the Senshi are onboard – purge the boat of all life if they will not surrender. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal," both of them answered and then they were gone.

* * *

Word spread quickly about the upcoming cruise and soon it seemed all of Tokyo was talking about it. When night fell on the sprawling cityscape, crowds upon crowds of people were lined up to board a magnificent luxury liner that would've made even the Titanic look like a barge in comparison.

The grand ballroom of the ship was spacious and seemed to have enough space for a thousand people as the ship's passengers slowly filed in. Many began dancing immediately, the marble floors of the ship soon littered with twirling dresses and suits. Others were content to simply wait at their tables and converse with their social equals – it was a cruise that only a few had managed to get on, and those that had either had deep pockets or god connections.

Rei watched the scene unfolding around her with disinterest, letting the soft music from the band playing to filter through her ears. Lavish as this was, none of this compared to the balls in her past life especially the ones on the Moon.

"This is so cool," Usagi squealed, eyes glittering as she watched the couples. Like Rei, both she and Ami were dolled up in bright dresses of white and blue, respectively. Ami's was more conservative than Usagi's while Rei's own was simple yet tasteful.

Each of the girls had been able to get on the cruise because of Naru's mother who was swamped at work that night and gave them her tickets. There was only two however so Usagi, much to Luna's protest, had used the disguise pen to change herself into first a crewman for the ship and then back to herself in a elegant dress.

"It's strange how yesterday people weren't even talking about a cruise, but today it was pretty much the only thing that they could think about," Ami stated, analyzing every aspect of her surroundings. "How could something like this be kept so secret if it was just a day before? Events like this are usually broadcast months prior to the actual night."

"Oh come on Ami, don't be such a downer," Usagi chided, wrapping an arm around her friend. "You need to live a little! Let's go see if we can find us some nice guys that are in need of our expertise." Despite the genius' protests, Usagi hauled her off onto the dance floor leaving Rei by herself nursing a glass of punch.

The priestess idly tapped one gloved finger on the table, her eyes scanning the hall for anything out of the ordinary – she could certainly sense it. There was something at work here and Ami's observations had confirmed most of her fears. This was a Dark Kingdom plot and if that really was true, then he'd have to be here.

* * *

"Take us out until we're far enough into the bay where we won't be disturbed," Tethys commanded as she held a hand out to the man's back.

"Yes, my lady," the Captain and several others intoned.

Her usual dress had been discarded for the time being in favor of blending in with the crew, a white naval cap nestled neatly on her head. Everything was going smoothly so far; the passengers were loaded and there had been no spikes in energy that she could readily detect. If the Senshi were on the boat, they were keeping their presence concealed. Smart.

Jadeite stepped into the cabin shutting the door behind him before addressing Tethys. "How are we doing?"

"All proceeding as planned, my lord. No sign of trouble as of yet."

Jadeite frowned but walked up and took his place at Tethys' side, folding his arms. "So, do you want to explain to me why you thought of a cruise of all things to gather energy?"

Tethys shifted a bit, biting her lip. "I've always loved ocean. Even back then, I remember the days when I would sit at the beach and just the waves rush up to my knees, feel the sand beneath my toes. These cities all but cut off those kinds of sensations, so I suppose this is as close to it as I can get."

The blond raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. "You talk as if you weren't always Beryl's youma."

Old wounds threatened to come up to the surface, but Tethys managed to smile a bit at him. "Some secrets aren't meant to be shared, Jadeite. This one is mine." And she left it at that, grateful that he wasn't as prying as Zoisite or Kunzite would've been. She didn't think she could live long enough to tell him the truth of what she really had been. Not that it mattered – this was who she was now and there was no changing that.

"So how exactly are you planning to drain them," he asked instead.

Tethys turned towards him and held up both her hands in front of her chest, as if holding a ball. A globe of water manifested in her palms, swirling and rippling until a picture of a girl was seen then shifted to others like her. "I've placed several of my aqua dolls in the ballroom at various points. They'll form a tight net around the humans when we begin the harvest, like a snare. They won't be able to get away fast enough before every last drop of their energy is mine."

Jadeite was silent, staring at the ball for several moments before he looked at her again. "And if the Senshi are onboard?"

Tethys gave him a cool stare, "We do as the Queen ordered."

"Could you do it," Jadeite pressed, his eyes narrowing at her. "I'm not asking if you can, I know you can but _could_ you do it?"

This time, she looked away from him, unable to handle the intensity of his eyes. Her Queen's commands were absolute and she followed them, whether she liked them or not. But…if she did go through with it, then what did that make her, really? "The Queen's word is absolute. There is nothing else."

Silence reigned for several long tense moments before Jadeite strode out of the cabin without a word, the door shutting behind him again.

"Captain."

"Yes my lady?"

"Inform me the minute we are far enough away from the city. The sooner we are done with this, the better."

* * *

Three glasses of punch later, Rei was still sitting at the table waiting for the others to get back – which didn't seem likely since now both Usagi and Ami were dancing to their heart's content with the others.

Her eyes had almost bugged out of her head when she saw the prince as his alter-ego dancing with Usagi. The idiot was going to blow his own cover one of these days. Not that Usagi would care given how starstruck she was at the current moment with him.

Ami's partner, however was a bit more amusing to watch. It was a boy closer to her age that seemed just as shy as her which, somehow, made a certain boldness take over the normally timid genius. They were swept up into a tentative waltz but one that made her heart warm all the same. It left a hollow ache when she realized _who_ she thought she was dancing with…

All that left was her and though there were many that would've had girls like her swooning if they so much as glanced at her, she only desired one. And she wasn't entirely sure whether that was a bad thing or a good thing. But she did remember the nights when both of them would meet in the gardens, and under the moon they would-

"It's a crime when someone such as you is left to the wind," a familiar voice said above her that made her throat clog up. Slowly she looked up and was faced with the visage of the object of her thoughts, a sly smirk firmly in place. "Men these days clearly have no real taste it seems."

Rei's heart raced. Did he recognize her? Did he know she was Sailor Mars? Her pen was safely in her pocket ready to use at a moment's notice but she prayed that it wouldn't come to that. She may've been strong but she knew very acutely just who had gotten her that way.

Then, something happened that she hadn't expected in a million years – he bowed his head and apologized. "About before…well, I suppose that wasn't the best way to kick things off but everything was a little hectic back then."

Her eyes widened in shock. He thought she was still an ordinary girl! He didn't know she had transformed into a Senshi! Part of her wanted to laugh with glee and roar with disappointment all at once, but she settled for gracing him with a mild glare. "There are better ways to get a girl's attention than knocking them out." No small amount of satisfaction surged through her when she saw him redden with embarrassment.

"Ah, right, well things got complicated very quickly. I am at least glad you made it out alright. When I saw the bus explode," he paused, clenching his fists.

"I'm not as helpless as you think," Rei told him, smiling a bit at the double meaning. "But whatever, I'll let that slide but in exchange," she offered him her hand, "I'll have you dance with me."

A moment of surprise flickered across his face before an easy smile set in as he took her hand in his, "Tired of watching the pretenders, I take it?"

"Something like that."

And just like that, each of them fell into an old ritual that was thousands of years in the making, the two slowly making their way onto the dance floor hand in hand. Her hand slid into his like the lost piece of a puzzle, strong fingers grasping her tightly as her other hand settled on his shoulder, the two beginning to move in perfect sync.

 _'Just like before,'_ she thought wistfully. _'He really hasn't changed…'_ A warm smile came over her face as her grip tightened, letting her body become free to her roaring spirit and passions. As he yanked her back to him, she found her eyes were locked on his smile or more specifically, his lips. Her heart thundered and she barely resisted the urge to lick her own. _'He's so close…I could just-'_

Then, the dream cascaded and reality reared its head. A pulse went out through the room and within seconds, everyone was on the floor, including her. The only one that remained standing was Jadeite who looked shocked for a brief moment before a cold expression replaced it.

"I'm sorry, Rei, but I have my orders. I hope you can understand that."

It felt as though the very life was being sucked out of her making it hard to breathe. Her pulse pounded in her ears, her fingers clawing around until they found her pocket. They curled around a familiar weight, ready to move. "I…do," she finally gasped out, slowly removing the pen as he looked down at her. Her eyes held his steadily, her arm slowly reaching up to hold the pen over her head. "Mars…Power…MAKE UP!"


	7. Chapter 7: Lines Crossed

Disclaimer: I do not and, never will own Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters belong to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.

* * *

The bright flash of red light and flames took him by surprise, forcing him to leap back to avoid being engulfed. He watched as fiery tongues emitted from the pen that Rei had pulled out, writhing and coiling around her body like snakes until they formed rings over her arms and legs. Another bright flash nearly blinded him forcing him to shield his eyes to avoid retina damage.

"Jadeite!"

That voice. Jadeite's stomach dropped. She was here. Slowly he lowered his hands and was faced with the vision of his nightmares and the object of his hatred. Not even ten feet from him the Fire Senshi now stood in all her glory, one gloved hand cocked on her hip while the one pointed at him. "Mars," he snarled, a scowl creasing his face.

"You've gone too far this time, general," the Senshi stated, lowering herself into a fighting stance.

"We won't let you hurt these people anymore," another voice rang out from across the room, Jadeite's patience dwindling even further.

' _So much for keeping them out,'_ he thought dryly.

"It appears we have stowaways, my lord," Tethys laughed as she appeared next to him, her disguise shed. "Perhaps we should throw them overboard?"

Jadeite's gaze never left Mars who returned the glare, their auras beginning to clash. "Deal with those two, but leave her to _me_." The other Senshi tried to protest but Tethys' assault sent them scattering, leaving Jadeite and Mars to face off.

A dark smile formed on his face, "You've got quite a lot of nerve showing your face to me after what you've done," he called out.

"That makes two of us," she shot back.

His brow rose. "Oh really? And pray tell, what exactly have I done to you that was worse than what you did to me?" He watched her move to say something but apparently thought better of it and kept it to herself. He scoffed. Not that it mattered. "Tell me something, dearest," he sneered, readying for an attack. "Was everything I did for you, everything I sacrificed of such amusement to you?"

That brought a look of shock to her face that he hadn't been expecting. "What are you talking about?"

His face darkened. "You don't remember, of course you don't remember because I WAS NOTHING TO YOU, RIGHT?!" He swung his arm forward, launching the energy he'd been gathering straight at the Senshi who dove out of the way. "I'll teach you to use me, harlot!" His next attack was of an element that he hadn't used since the past life, one that he dreaded using even now. Blue flames raced towards the Fire Senshi, devouring all in their path as they engulfed the girl in fire.

Jadeite grinned morbidly as he watched the fire consume his opponent, breathing hard from exertion. Using that element was taxing on his stamina and he hadn't used these powers in a long time. Fire was-

 **BOOM!**

The concussive wave blew him back some and dust flew into his eyes, forcing him to blink a few times before he was able to see what lay ahead of him again. What he saw was a vision straight out of Hell.

Blue and orange fire mingled together almost in harmony, mixing and churning as they formed an ominous backdrop for the enraged Senshi that was glaring at him with laser-like amethyst orbs. When she spoke, it sent a chill down parts of his body he didn't even know could _get_ chills.

" _What_ …did you just call me?"

It was here that his fight or flight instincts were kicking in and it was more of the latter than the former in this case, specifically telling him to get the hell out of there while he still had breath. But pride and some would say foolish bravery forced him to stand his ground against the coming inferno.

A slow, mocking grin came over his face as he delivered his rebuttal. "You heard me… _harlot_."

The very next second, the air around him exploded.

* * *

Beryl watched with glee as Jadeite was sent flying back from the Senshi's attack. The emotions that had been playing out on their faces were delightful; the sheer desperation, the confused rage and now righteous fury.

Mars stalked over towards the battered Shitennou, her entire body alight with flames so bright they were almost hard to look at. Jadeite got to his feet only to be blasted aside again, this time going through the piano that was on the ballroom's stage. The Senshi advanced on him with murder in her eyes but was forced to stop and evade when a flurry of dark energy balls lanced out, one striking her in the shoulder. She landed in a crouch, just as the blond Shitennou burst out of the wreckage, his uniform now torn slightly.

"You'll have to do better than that," he mocked, hurling another dark energy ball at her.

Mars ducked and closed in, pivoting on one foot to slam her heel into his cheek, knocking him on his rear. Her left hand burst into flames, acting like a flamethrower as she bathed the man in flames while he put up a defensive barrier. The torrent halted and she had no chance to stop the punch that he slammed into her stomach, followed by a dark energy blast that sent her flying into a set of tables.

Beryl couldn't help herself. She cackled and laughed at the sight of her two mortal enemies trying to kill one another. Her eyes glowed with malevolent glee. "This is marvelous! That's it! Fight, bite, kick and scream until your bodies are spent! Then when the dust settles, I'll break you apart and rebuild to do it all again!"

* * *

Every muscle in her body ached and burned, but none of that mattered. She was still seeing red and Jadeite was still in her crosshairs. She forced herself to stand up, wincing slightly as the broken end of a table leg jabbed at her arm. But none of that mattered.

Harlot. He had called her a _harlot_. Of all the things she would've let slide, THAT was not one of them. It didn't matter if he didn't remember her – she would not forgive him for that slip. And before this was over, she was going to make sure he regretted his words.

Jadeite stood his ground against her, something she had to give him credit for. Not many had the will to stand against the full fury of the Senshi of Mars when her temper was piqued, though that was one of the reasons she had been so interested in him. All the others had run off but he had never fled, not even once and had ended more than slightly scorched for his actions.

And this time was no different.

"Not getting tired, are you," the blond fired at her, looking winded. His once pristine uniform was torn and burnt in several places, the curls in his hair matted with ash and soot from their brawl. He looked ready to pass out but yet he remained on his feet. A true warrior to the end.

Mars clenched her fists tightly, glaring at him with all the strength she could muster. And for the first time she asked herself: why?

Why was she doing this? Hadn't she already said how reluctant she was to fight him? Was one word really all that it took to fracture everything that had been building for them?

No. No this was wrong. She wouldn't do this. Jadeite was her enemy but, there were other ways of fighting. The change he had displayed since their last meeting was drastic and she had the nasty feeling that it had something to do with Beryl.

"I don't understand," she admitted.

"Understand _what_ ," Jadeite snapped.

"How could she turn you against me like this," Mars whispered, her heart beginning to clench. "I thought-"

"What? That I loved you, that I wanted to give you everything even the universe?" Eyes widening, she looked up and met his eyes and for the first time, she saw something she hadn't before – pain. "It seems we were both wrong, weren't we?"

No…

Tears stung her eyes. No, no, NO! That wasn't it! That was never it! What had that witch told him?!

"WHAT DID SHE TELL YOU," she screamed, the pain in her heart finally coming to bear.

Jadeite shook his head. "It doesn't matter… None of it matters."

"Sailor Senshi!" All eyes suddenly turned to Tethys who was standing high above in the air, holding a giant ball of water over her head. "Submit now or everyone on this boat _dies_!"

"You're insane," Sailor Mercury exclaimed, clutching her arm trying to staunch the flow of blood.

"You can't kill all of these people," Sailor Moon cried, pleading with the youma.

"SUBMIT," Tethys roared, the all above beginning to glow brighter and grow. "My lord, please move to a safe distance. I do not wish you to be injured."

Mars looked at Jadeite in horror. He knew about this?! But he would never, he couldn't… She watched as the emotion in his face faded, his bangs shadowing his face. Her head starting to slowly shake. _'Don't do it, don't do it, please…'_

"Please don't do this," Moon cried one last time.

"Jadeite, please," Mercury begged.

Jadeite looked at her and she swallowed hard, pleading with her eyes for him to do the right thing. Finally, he walked away from her and toward where Tethys was floating above, looking right up at her. "Fine. Then do it."

What?

"What," Mars and the Senshi chorused.

"WHAT?!" Tethys' hold on the ball waivered but she held firm. "Jadeite, the Queen ordered us to-"

"To the pits with the Queen's orders," Jadeite suddenly said, his declaration shocking all of them. "There's a difference from energy gathering and slaughter, and I won't let you murder all of these people."

"They are just humans-"

"That were once our kin and still are," the Shitennou stated, and looked at Mars. Her heart started to race when the tiniest of smiles made its appearance on his face. "The Shitennou are the guardians of the Earth. These girls have been more than that in the last few months than me and the rest of my brothers have been in years." He turned his gaze up toward the floating youma. "If you kill these people, you'll have to kill me as well because I'd rather die as one of my people than as something above them."

"Jadeite," Tethys pleaded, biting her lip as her hair covered her eyes. The ball suddenly glowed brighter than ever before, the Senshi tensing as they prepared for the final blow that would surely obliterate them. Then, the ball popped like a bubble, a brief shower of rain coming down on all of them. Tethys slowly lowered herself until she was right in front of Jadeite, then she threw herself into his arms "Don't you… _ever_ …ask me to do that again."

And to Mars' utter shock, he embraced her. "Sorry." Suddenly, their bodies began to shimmer and ripple. "Looks like we're in for it." With one last glance at Mars, he smiled again. And then he was gone.

The Senshi of Fire just sat there in complete loss for several moments before she felt a hand on her shoulder, tensing slightly at the contact.

"Rei," a voice above her startled her enough to look up, meeting Moon and Mercury's sympathetic gazes. "It's him isn't it," the blonde asked softly.

Mars nodded mutely, her body beginning to tremble as she felt herself pulled into a hug.

Then the tears came.

* * *

Tethys cried out as she thrown up against the cave pillar, a gasp escaping her as her back slammed against it. She slid down to the floor, trembling and whimpering.

"Tethys!"

"Do not move, Shitennou," Beryl ordered, keeping him in place with her magic. She looked at both of them with a blank face that was bereft of any anger which in itself was much scarier than when she was. "You astound me. After all that I've given you, the power that you now wield, you would throw it all away to become one of the rabble once again. For shame." She blasted Tethys with another bolt of dark energy, the youma crying out in agony as her body glowed from each blast. Jadeite tried to look away but Beryl's magic forced him to look. "You _will_ watch this."

Tethys tried to get up only to be subjected to another hit from Beryl's magic, the blow bringing her to her knees. "Please, my Queen," she gasped out. "I beg you mercy."

"Mercy," Beryl parroted. "I don't know the meaning of the word." She blasted her subordinates again. "The way I see it, you both went against my direct orders. I explicitly told you to wipe out the humans if the Senshi didn't submit and yet, not only did you _not_ do so but now the energy that had been gathered has been lost and returned to those wretches. This failure is on both of your heads and you will _both_ suffer for it."

Tethys screamed until she passed out, her body falling to the cold cave floor much to Jadeite's horror.

"No-" His words were cut off when Beryl herself appeared right in front of him, her skeletal hand clamping down on her face with a vice-grip. His eyes widened as he felt her energy seeping into his brain. He couldn't stop the screams that let loose from his throat.

"You have become far too independent, my dear general," Beryl was saying, as if she were simply chatting about the weather. "Therefore it is time I invoked a better deal of control over you." Ignoring his screams, she flooded his mind with dark energy, subverting his will slowly until there was little to nothing of the old Jadeite. When he quieted down, she slowly released his face and was pleased when she saw the blank slate his eyes presented. "Now, whom do you serve?"

"You, my Queen," Jadeite answered monotonously.

Beryl grinned. "That you do. Now, my trusted Shitennou, I have a task for you…"

* * *

Hours later, Rei sat at her vanity running her brush through her long hair, more of a habit than actually needing doing. She'd taken a long bath when she'd gotten home, grateful that her grandfather was nowhere around as she dealt with the wounds she'd sustained during the fight. Her Senshi healing would get rid of them in a day or two but those were the furthest things from her mind.

Jadeite dominated her thoughts, more so than he even had before. His words from before struck her so deep that it almost made her want to cry again, and punch something at the same time.

Beryl. That sick sadistic witch had perverted Jadeite's mind with lies about their past together and had turned him against her, had almost made them kill each other! The very notion of having to do that made it hard to breathe.

Whenever she thought about him now, it hurt. Having come so close to getting him back only to have him snatched away had hurt her far deeper than she would ever care to admit. He was the other half of her soul, she knew it now and more than anything she wanted him back. Beryl was _very_ lucky she didn't know where she lived…

She stopped her brushing, looking at the brush before she clutched it to her chest.

' _I miss him…'_

"Wake up." That voice boomed through her ears and made her jump, looking around for the source. There was no one in the room except her. So where- "Get up right now Sailor Senshi." Tracking the sound, she raced to the window and looked up into the sky, her jaw dropping. Jadeite's face was imprinted in the sky, but there was something different about him. Then she saw it and her heart sank. His eyes of azure blue were gone, replaced by black coals of lead that showed nothing but _emptiness_. "You have made a fool of me for the last time. In three days time, come alone to the airport and there we will settle this once and for all. If you don't," he sucked in a breath and began to breathe fire down on the city.

Screams filled the air.

Rei stumbled back, fighting back tears that burned her eyes. "No…," she whimpered and fell to her knees. "Not again…"


	8. Chapter 8: A Maiden's Heart

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters belong to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.

* * *

Luna looked back and forth at each of the girls, studying their expressions carefully. The only one who seemed the least affected of people was Usagi but the shock was there though not as prominent as it was on their resident genius' face.

"Is…is it really true?"

Rei bowed her head, her bangs covering her eyes. "Yes. All of it."

After what had happened last night, it was high time that they knew what she had been keeping from them. They'd seen how much Jadeite had affected her and they deserved to know just why that was – telling them was the easy part. Dealing with their reactions…that was the tricky bit.

Usagi for her part seemed mostly accepting of it which surprised Rei. Of all people she would've expected the blonde to start bombarding her with questions about their relationship. And yet she just sat there with an expression that arguably would've been considered neutral.

Ami was far different story however. Telling her about Jadeite and getting her to accept it was fairly painless, but when she got to her own past… Even now the look of absolute shock and disbelief left a pang in Rei's heart. Never before would she have thought she'd ever see the calm, rational girl to look like she was about to jump out of her skin.

"Did you know from the beginning," Usagi finally asked, her curiosity rearing its head.

Rei chewed her lip, trying to figure out how to word this correctly. There were two truths to this fact; when her gem had been returned, it had unlocked a vast majority of her power and with it portions of her memories. But the knowledge of just why a man had held something that precious to her would have to be approached delicately.

"I didn't know at first," she finally admitted, looking at both of them but lingering on Ami. "But when I got my gem back from Jadeite, it unlocked some of my memories specifically ones regarding our relationship and my feelings for him."

"Ok, you lost me," Usagi held up her hand. "Why exactly would this gem be able to give you your memories and powers back? What's so special about it? And how did he get it?"

"Because the gems are linked to our souls," Ami said quietly, her eyes widening slightly as if she realized something. "And we gave a piece of our soul to-"

"Our soul mates, yes," Rei finished with a nod. She took in a deep breath and looked at them both firmly. "Jadeite was and _is_ my soul mate and I don't intend to let that witch do what she wills with him. One way or another I am going to get him back." And just like that, it felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. All the tension and anxiety she had been feeling dissipated as she confessed her feelings.

Ami stared at her in surprise while Usagi smiled warmly.

"I don't exactly know much about him, but if Jadeite's important to you Rei then he's important to me. We'll get him back, don't you worry!"

Rei's face softened a bit at her friend's sincere declaration. The blond could be a bit of a ditz sometimes, but she had the heart of a lioness and for that Rei would always stand by her. The one that still worried her was Ami. "Ami, I know it's a lot to take in," she began gently, reaching out to touch the girl's shoulder.

"It is," she laughed harshly. "How am I supposed to react to that? That I may have to fight the man I once loved in some different life, and furthermore, why are they are our enemies to begin with?!" She was getting hysterical for a minute managed to calm herself down at the last second. "But…we all heard what happened last night, Jadeite's challenge-"

Rei slammed her tea cup down, a snarl contorting her features. "THAT wasn't Jadeite. Whatever that witch did to him has suppressed every single aspect of him. What he is now is just a puppet."

"But there has to be a way to free him," Usagi said, looking to Luna for answers.

Luna sighed. "I'm afraid I know little about freeing someone from the witch's magic. You girls are the only ones who can counter her wickedness – without you, this world would've been doomed long ago. However," she shifted her gaze to Rei, "darkness or not, if anyone could save him from whatever spell Beryl has him under, it's you."

* * *

Hours later, Rei was busy with her chores, her mind still dwelling on the coming duel at the airport with Jadeite. Whatever was controlling him was not the man she loved and she hated it but she couldn't think of a way to get him to return to himself.

' _If I could, I'd storm whatever hole Beryl has dug herself and make her do it,'_ she groused.

She finished up and headed towards the temple to rest when she stopped, her hand lingering on the door frame. Locking herself in her room wouldn't do any good and she'd never been one to simply sit around and wait. And it _was_ a nice night…

One brief change later, Sailor Mars was racing across the rooftops, pushing herself to her limits as she leaped over gaps impossible for a human to make. Her heels click clacked rapidly as she sped on, the moonlight covering her in shadow to the naked eye of any bystander. Before long she found herself standing at the top of a particularly large tower that overlooked a good portion of the city, all the way to Starlight Tower glimmering like a jewel amongst the cityscape.

Here, at the top of the world, the full weight of her duty as a Senshi bore down her; each and every one of the people down there she was sworn to defend from all evils. Sometimes she relished in that duty, but others like now for instance was where she despised it.

Duty would ultimately force her to destroy the only man she had ever loved with all her heart. Duty was cruel.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Mars whirled around at the sound of that voice, her eyes widening when she came face to face with one that she had seen everywhere. But it wasn't the trademark mask that made her stand out that caught Mars' attention. Instead it was the glimmering chain that hung around her waist, chain linked with hearts, a chain that could only belong to- "Venus…"

The blonde Senshi blinked a few times before she laughed, leaping down from her perch with acrobatic grace, landing just a few feet from Mars. "Seems I can't hide anything from you, Mars."

Mars smirked. "It's a good disguise admittedly, but the chain gives you away," she pointed out causing the blonde to flush a bit with embarrassment.

"Well sue me," Sailor V stuck her tongue out good-naturedly. "So, where are the others?"

"Home I'm guessing. I wasn't going to sit around and wait for Friday."

The heroine walked up to her, touching her shoulder, "I know… I'm sorry about Jadeite."

Mars nodded, pursing her lips. "What about you? Do you know about-?"

"About Kunzite," V smiled sadly. "Yeah, I left a calling card in London for him to dig around for. With any luck he'll be there for a few more weeks before he comes back here. You should know though, Nephrite may be showing up soon." The blonde laughed a bit. "I wish Jupiter was here. She'd set him straight real quick."

"If you're here, then she's definitely out there somewhere," Mars said, looking back out at the city. "Somewhere…" She clenched her fists and frowned. "I don't understand. How could all of this have happened? They were loyal to Endymion! They would never have-!"

"She used us," V told her, Mars' gaze locking with hers. The barest trace of anger was on the blonde Senshi's face now. "Beryl threatened to have us killed if they didn't give in and they… She played visions of us dying to them over and _over_ …" V choked and covered her mouth.

Mars' heart sank. "And then she broke them, wiped them clean and turned them against their prince, their home. …against us."

"But I'm not giving up," V suddenly said, Mars' watching as a smile bloomed over the blonde's face. "Beryl may've broken him, but that means we can take our time putting the pieces back once he's free."

"But, how are you going to rescue him? Beryl's magic turned them against us, so how are we supposed to bring them back?"

V put both her hands on her shoulders and smiled widely, "Simple: because I know he loves me and for that, I'm not about to let him go. Honestly, do you know how difficult it was to get that man to come around the first time? He's a challenge and you should know me well enough to know what happens when someone like that comes around."

The Fire Senshi stared at her comrade for several long moments before she embraced the blonde, eliciting a startled squeak from her. She smiled into her hair. "Thanks V, I needed this. I know what I can do now." She released her captive, grinning a bit at the flush in her cheeks before she leapt back. "When you see Kunzite, tell him I said hi."

Sailor V gave a two finger salute, returning the grin, "Oh count on it. I'm going to make that man chase _me_ this time."

Mars took off down the building, filled with a new purpose and a firm resolve that fueled her spirit. V had been right; Jadeite may've been broken, but that didn't mean they couldn't spend the rest of their lives trying to put him back together or maybe even make something new. After all, it was a new life and new opportunities. But first-

' _I have a date to get ready for.'_

* * *

(Short update, I know, but I promise the next chapter will be longer. So it's all come down to this: Sailor Mars vs Jadeite. Can Mars save the man she loves, or is he lost to her forever? What of the other Senshi? Where is Jupiter? And what role does Sailor V have yet to play? Find out on the next episode of- *ahem* Stay tuned for the next update.


	9. Chapter 9: Save you from Anything

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters belong to the wonderful Naoko takeuchi.

* * *

The gentle roar and rumble of the tracks beneath them did little to calm her nerves, but at least it staved off some of the silence. Her eyes were dropped to her lap, trying not to think of what else was as red as her fuku. Gloved fingers played a tuneless rhythm, oddly enough keeping in step with each beat of her heart.

Sailor Mars blew out a breath and looked down the aisle towards the empty cars of the train, still feeling the energies of the people that had rode on it not even hours before. When she and the girls had met at the temple, they set out for airport which was only accessible by train – a train that had been waiting for them with no one in sight.

That alone tipped her off that Jadeite knew they were coming.

Now only minutes away from their arrival, she had to wonder just _how_ she was going to free the blond Shitennou from Beryl's enslavement. Her encounter with Venus had helped strengthen her resolve, but she was still hesitant about all of this. Even though she had fought him on the ship, he had to push her buttons to do so and that was when she still saw some of the old Jadeite within him.

But none of that was in his eyes when he issued his challenge the other night. It had been as if Beryl had sucked all of the goodness out and in its place left nothing but darkness. He was completely under her control now, but that didn't mean he was unreachable.

She wrung her hands together, trying not to let the turmoil within her show on her face lest she worry her teammates.

Both of them had followed her without question to the station and hadn't said a word since they had transformed. The silence was unnerving in some ways but she couldn't blame them. After what she had told them they had to be reluctant in some way too. This was a potential ally that they were going to face and, if it came down to it, defeat.

For the briefest of instances, in her despair, she had contemplated if Jadeite was even savable, if he wasn't already lost to her forever. If that was indeed the case, then she would be the one to end his torment however much she wished and prayed she would never have too.

It was the least that he deserved.

"Mars," Sailor Mercury's voice brought her out from her musings. "If it's true that you and Jadeite were…lovers," she blushed a bit at the last part before she fixed the raven-haired Senshi with a calculating stare, "then, you must know him best." Mars nodded, urging her to go on. "What do you remember of Jadeite's prowess? What are his strengths and weaknesses?"

Mars folded her arms, leaning back closing her eyes. She was silent for a brief moment before she began to explain. "Jadeite was the youngest of the Shitennou; Endymion recruited him after the former lost to him in a duel, and was the only one of the others that nearly beat the Prince. He has a natural affinity to all weapons but preferred using two swords that he forged himself that he could imbue with his own element." She held up one of her hands palm facing the ceiling as she willed a plume of flames to come to life. "His flames are both stronger and weaker than mine."

"What do you mean," Sailor Moon asked, her head tilted slightly.

"The people of Mars had a natural affinity to Fire thus we styled our culture around it, but we were never exposed to the true fury of it like those on Earth. Wildfires, droughts, volcanoes, the people of Terra had learned and adapted to the full force that Fire could unleash and knew its dangers. The people of Mars… My people, were prideful and in some ways arrogant when it came to these dangers. I learned that lesson the hard way when I tried to fight Jadeite one time."

"Did he beat you," Moon asked anxiously, leaning forward.

Mars' face scrunched up. "No. He let me win. He knew how arrogant I was becoming in my own abilities and wanted to teach me a lesson. I ended up burning him so bad I scarred part of his shoulder. I never realized my fire was that dangerous until that day."

"I still don't understand," Mercury put in her two cents. "I can see why your fire would be stronger since his was blown away before, but why did you say his were stronger still?"

She lowered her head, struggling to get the words before she practically spat them out. "Because I have no control," she admitted shamefully. "In terms of power, I could overwhelm Jadeite in a straight up fight if we were just using our elements. But if I let my power get too out of hand, it could be a danger not only to me but everyone around me. Jadeite is my superior because what he lacks in terms of raw power he makes up for it with experience. I was the one prone to rash decisions while he was perhaps the most patient person I had ever met. We both were trained in our abilities form the time we were children but unlike me, he was forced to experience the horrors of Fire that I never had to think about until I faced him. In the end, no matter how much power I have, there's no point if I can't control it."

"So how are we supposed to fight him," the blonde pressed. "I know you want to save him, and I do too, but-"

Mars looked her square in the eyes, the other Senshi flinching at the intensity in the priestess' eyes. " _You_ won't be fighting him – I will. It's like Mercury said, I know him best and so it's only wise that I be the one to face him. Besides, if we all fight him, we'll lose any chance of walking away from this."

"Why is that? It'd be smarter for us to fight him together! Strength in numbers, right?"

Mars chuckled bitterly. "Numbers don't mean anything to a Dragon."

* * *

The train suddenly began to slow down and at the far end of the tunnel, a light could be seen. The three slowly stood up and made their way to the engine car, watching as the station slowly slid into view.

This station wasn't as empty as the other had been though. A small crowd of faceless men wearing the uniform of Tokyo's finest were already waiting for them.

"Uh…now that I think about it, didn't the Police set up shop here after Jadeite's little light show," Moon mentioned nervously.

Mercury was already typing away on her computer, briefly glancing up from it to get readings on the procession. "I'm getting some strange signatures here. It's as if-"

The doors suddenly slid open – and the guards made a beeline for the car. Moon shrieked and hid behind Mercury while Mars stepped forward, just as one of them jumped toward her.

She shot her hand forward, a ball of fire exiting her palm that slammed into the guard's face, setting him ablaze. "…they're not even human," she finished grimly, glancing down at the burning dummy. The rest of the automatons tried to rush her only to be burnt down by a wave of fire she flung out at them. As the dummies burned, she heard clapping. Her eyes traveled up to the ceiling where she saw Jadeite standing upside down on the ceiling, a cruel smirk on his face.

"Well done, Sailor Mars. Not many would've seen through that little trick."

"Parlor tricks like that would only fool children," she shot back, glaring directly into his eyes. Those black coals just stared right back at her as if staring at nothing. "Now why don't you come down here so we can get this over with?"

"Impatient as ever," he teased, and for a brief moment she thought she saw a flicker of blue in those dark orbs. "Well then, come. I am waiting." He phased back through the floor, leaving the three alone with the burning wreckage.

"I had no idea he was part bat," Moon joked with a small grin. That actually made Mars smile a bit.

"Rei," Mercury touched Mars' shoulder, giving her a concerned gaze, "I know how you feel, but tell me honestly. Do you really think there's a chance?"

Before she had her doubts; even with what she had said on the train, she wondered if all of this really was just some cruel fate that she'd ultimately have to kill the only man she'd ever wanted in her life. But that flicker showed her that this wasn't all for naught, that there was a chance and there was one thing she hadn't tried yet, something that would either make or break her.

But it was also the best chance she had of completely expelling whatever curse Beryl had him under. "I do. And I am going to give the baka the biggest grilling for making me worry about him like this."

* * *

The cool night breeze flitted across their faces as they emerged from the terminal, spotting a shadowy figure standing there waiting for them. The three slowly approached him until they were but a few meters away, trying to appear both determined and defiant to the blond young man.

"You've caused me quite a bit of trouble over the last several weeks, girls," Jadeite began saying, starting to pace in front of them with his hands behind his back. "My Queen has become very cross with me as of late but tonight I hope to correct that by bringing her your henshin wands or more preferably, your heads. But I am a gentleman first and a General second so I'll give you one chance to give up your wands right now and I'll plead my Queen to be merciful."

"Not happening," Moon said sternly, her boldness surprising even Mars. "You've been causing the people of this city enough nightmares. All of that ends tonight!"

"I couldn't agree more," Jadeite nodded and ignited his hand with blue flames, the same he'd used against Mars on the cruise ship. "So, who's first? To be honest I'd very much like to give you a taste of my frustration, blondie."

Mars stepped in front of Moon, holding out her arm as she glared at Jadeite. "I don't think so. We still have a match to finish, General."

Jadeite cocked his head to the side before he grinned. "So we do. Well then milady, come on then!" A firestorm shot forth from his hands, forcing the Senshi to scatter. He used the confusion to his advantage and closed the distance towards Moon, a manic grin marring his features as a look of horror manifested on Moon's face.

"Fire Soul!" Just as he was about to reach her, a blast of fire took him from the side, sending him skidding across the tarmac until he rolled to a stop. He got to his feet with scratches on his face glaring at the Fire Senshi, who already preparing another attack. "You should know how much I hate being ignored."

Jadeite growled, his arms glowing with blue flames that he threw towards the Senshi, drawing his dagger as he closed in.

But Mars wasn't like Moon, she knew what he would do. Just as he cleared the flames, she was already there with her attack, causing a wide-eyed look to flash across his face before he dodged, the flames just barely missing him. He launched a kick that the Senshi took the brunt of, eliciting a grunt from her followed by a punch that she blocked. She retaliated with a punch of her own but it was caught by Jadeite who grinned.

"Did you really think that would work," he mocked.

Mars grinned right back. "Who said I was done?" With a fierce yell, she punctuated her words with a knee to the man's groin. Jadeite wheezed and doubled over in pain, allowing her to back away to a safe distance.

"Y-you bitch," Jadeite groaned, glaring at her with pure hatred in his eyes.

"You say the sweetest things," she teased, holding up one hand with another fireball ready to throw. "Round two, General?" As she saw him rise, she smirked and shouted, "Now Mercury!"

"Shabon Spray!" A thick cloud of mist and fog enshrouded the area, allowing Mars to make a hasty retreat back to the others all whilst Jadeite called for her head. As Mars dropped to a crouch near them, Mercury sighed. "That was a risky move but now he's weakened. So what's your plan?"

Mars reached behind her and pulled out an ofuda, an evil smile curling her blood red lips upward, "Here's where being a miko pays off."

* * *

While Jadeite had said to come alone to the airport, he never said _he_ was going to. From atop of the main building, a familiar figure watched the scene below with a blank stare. She'd been incredibly fortunate that Beryl had given her a chance to redeem herself by watching over the "new and improved" Jadeite.

She snorted.

 _Improved_ was a farce.

If anything, he was weaker than he'd ever been thanks to Beryl's magic. His spirit which was the greatest part of his character had been smothered and replaced by a dark subservient entity that only was loyal to Beryl. It made him easier to control but it also greatly reduced his overall powers hence why Mars had gotten the upper hand on him so quickly.

She knew she should be interfering. Beryl had ordered Jadeite to kill the Senshi by any means necessary and so had sent them both to the airport. Had Jadeite enforced the order she would've followed it…

But he _didn't_. Not once did he tell her to come and help him if he were getting beaten, not once. It puzzled her for a while until she considered something that made her heart leap. The Jadeite she knew and loved wasn't completely gone. There was still something left of him and if that was the case-

"I hope you aren't going to do anything hasty," a voice said from behind her.

Tethys only pursed her lips. It should've bothered her that one of her enemies had snuck up on her so easily but that was before her master had nearly tortured her to death – before she had watched as the one person she had ever loved was nearly destroyed right in front of her. "I won't as long as you won't."

"Really? I find that hard to believe."

"Believe whatever you want. But since you were able to sneak up on me, why didn't you just end me? I am after all one of the monsters of the evil Queen Beryl, one of her strongest in fact."

"…you aren't like the others. What ARE you?"

This time, Tethys fixed the Senshi with a small sad smile. "Something I wish I wasn't."

* * *

"It won't work," Moon said glumly.

"Yes it will," Mars insisted. "It always works."

"Not on him! He blocked it with that force-field thingy of his last time I tried it!"

"Usagi, trust me," Mars told her comrade earnestly, smiling encouragingly. "It _will_ work."

"Whatever we're going to do we better do it fast, I can't keep this up forever," Mercury alarmed as she gritted her teeth. The fog was starting to thin out and it was taking all of her concentration to keep it up so they could plan without interruptions.

Mars slowly brought the ofuda close to her face, closing her eyes.

' _Please, let this work.'_

"Alright…GO!"

Moon broke off into a run, removing her tiara as it began to glow in her hands. "Moon Tiara Action!" She flung the disc into the fog, closing her eyes until she was guiding the tiara herself with her will. Through it, she picked out her target and flew toward him, a startled cry coming from him as it wrapped around him.

"What the-!?"

"Mars, hurry! I can't hold him forever!"

The Fire Senshi's body began to glow white as the spiritual energies channeled through her into the ofuda, her eyes snapping open as the slips of paper became dagger straight. Then she took off into the run, "Mercury, drop it!" The fog suddenly cleared and she sped off toward Jadeite, cupping her hands to the side, generating a ball of flames that crackled with red electricity, sliding to a stop as she shoved the ball into his chest. "Fire…SOUL!"

The fire ball exploded and sent Jadeite high into the air, screaming all the way. As he got high up enough, Mars withdrew the ofuda, and then hurled them – five in total – up toward Jadeite. The ofuda slowly came to a stop mid-air in a circular pattern, one on each side of his arms and legs with one above his head. As her eyes slid closed once more, Mars's hands began flying through various hand signs as she chanted under her breath, a fiery red outline beginning to envelop her body "Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!" Her eyes snapped open and she shot them up toward the sky, as if reaching out to grab Jadeite. "Akuryou Taisan!"

The ofuda flashed once then tendrils of electricity surged into Jadeite's body making him scream. His cries made her heart bleed but she forced herself to continue, willing her power into the barrier she had erected in order to draw out what was tainting Jadeite's spirit. Finally, she saw it: an inky blackness that was coiled around his heart.

"Get out of him, filth," she growled. Her spirit grabbed hold of the taint and began to draw it out of him, the blackish substance filtering out his body into the sky that took on the form of a ghoulish shadow that snarled at her. It roared and sped towards her just as she drew one more ofuda, then flicked it at the shadow freezing it in place. Performing one last hand sign, amethyst eyes glared up at the shadow as she said in a low, dangerous voice, "Now, be gone." The shadow shrieked and boiled away into the night, banished forever.

The ofuda barrier finally failed and Jadeite's body plummeted to the ground, Mars racing to catch him. She slid forward on her knees just in time, catching him in her arms. Gently she turned his face over, her hand cupping his cheek as she probed his aura. She almost wept with relief when she felt none of the taint that had been within him when she first awakened. _This_ was what she remembered; this was what she had been fighting for. For the first time since she had seen him again, she hugged him, allowing tears of joy to spill over her cheeks as she whispered in his ear, "Welcome home, Vasileios."

* * *

The glass surface of the crystal ball spider-webbed from the cracks that were playing out across its surface as Queen Beryl's face twisted into a visage of unrestrained fury and rage. She'd done it; the little Sailor bitch had done what she believed impossible. She'd actually broken the spell she had placed over Jadeite and expelled all of the energy she had placed within him. It was inconceivable.

And yet, there it was playing out right before her very eyes.

 **"You were careless,"** a voice thundered in the cavern. Beryl's lips twisted into a snarl, gnashing her fangs. **"Now you have only three Shitennou. What will you do, my pitiful apprentice?"**

"Slaughter them," Beryl hissed. "Slaughter them ALL!"

The youma in the cavern echoed the roars of their master gleefully. Finally for the first time in millennia, they were going to get the chance to taste human flesh!

* * *

"She actually did it," Sailor V whispered to herself, feeling the absolute joy and relief coming from her Sister Senshi. She had managed to free her soul mate from Beryl's curse and if she could do it…

' _Kunzite…'_ Her hands gripped each other over her heart.

Tethys had remained awfully quiet about the whole thing though which worried the blonde. "Sooo, what happens now?"

"…you run," were Tethys last words before a scream filled the air.

V raced to the edge, her eyes widening when she saw a scene straight out of a horror movie. Black scaly monsters were beginning to advance upon the Senshi and Jadeite, roaring at them…and they were multiplying by the second.

"Beryl's response," Tethys said flatly, clenching her fists. "She is calling for the destruction of the Senshi and…the traitor."

V tensed, one hand lingering on her chain as she eyed the youma dubiously. "What will you do then?" Tethys just smiled at her. The very next moment, she felt her body give out from the strike to her neck and her world went dark. But before she slipped to the world of nothingness, she heard Tethys one last time.

"What I should've done years ago."

* * *

"Moon Tiara Action!" Moon flung her tiara at the youma, able to dust at least three before it had to come back to her. But that might as well have been a drop in the ocean at this point considering how rapidly their numbers increased. "Waaah! They keep coming!"

Mars set Jadeite gently on the ground before she stood up and clap her hands together. "Fire Soul!" Flames sparked from her fingertips, a line of fire spilling out until it created a ring of fire around them all. The youma were forced to halt their advance, barking and baying for their demise. Her hands fell to her sides, beads of sweat starting to pour down her face. That stunt of hers had vastly drained her reserves but it had allowed her to free Jadeite.

But it may've doomed them all as well. All of them were running on fumes. That ring of fire was the last bit of energy she could expend without collapsing. "We need to get out of here."

"I'm working on it," Mercury snapped, her fingers flying across the keyboard of her computer, eyes darting back and forth. "But the waves are too thick. If we left now, they'd catch us in seconds. We need a distraction!"

Suddenly, the fires went out, and now there was nothing stopping the youma from overrunning them. Each of them braced as the horde surrounded them, fangs gnashing and hissing. But before they could even flinch, a pillar of water blew them away, clearing the way for the girls and their unconscious passenger.

"Who-"

"If you wish to leave, then now would be the time," a voice from nearby called. All of them looked over, their eyes widening in shock when they saw Tethys of people standing in defiance to the youma, her brethren.

"Traitor," the youma hissed and turned their sights toward her.

"Are you insane," Mars screamed. "They'll chew you apart!" She was taken aback by the sudden intensity in the youma woman's eyes, but then they softened to something like acceptance.

"If it means ensuring that he lives, I will gladly give myself. Now go, Senshi of Mars and remember to honor the love my Jadeite holds for you. Never betray it or I will find you." She created another globe of water in front of her chest before flinging it at another piece of the horde, destroying it. She let her youma features manifest as the howls intensified, " **GO**! **NOW**!"

Mars bit her lip hard. "Let's go," she told the others, and began to help Jadeite up, putting one of his arms around her shoulders. Moon hurried over and helped her, both starting to carry the unconscious male toward the terminal with Mercury leading. She glanced back a few times to see if Tethys was indeed holding them off and she was, almost to the point that she seemed to be winning.

They had almost made it inside of the terminal when Jadeite began to stir, a groan coming from his lips. Mars eagerly turned her face toward him, her heart almost crying when she saw that the old familiar azure blue was to be found. "M…Mars? Where-" His eyes suddenly widened as she started to squirm. "Tethys!" Across the tarmac as she obliterated another youma, Tethys and Jadeite locked gazes, a serene smile coming into place over the woman's lips. Jadeite's eyes widened in horror, "Wait, Tethys! Let me go! We can't just leave her!"

"We have no choice," Mercury told him. "If it weren't for her, we wouldn't even have made it this far."

"I can't leave her," Jadeite screamed and broke free of his captors, suddenly finding himself with the strength to run back to the door before he was tackled by Mars. "Let me go Mars! I can't leave her to die!"

Mars' protest became lodged in her throat when she saw one of the youma broke through Tethys defenses and rake their claws through her body, a shocked expression fixed on her face. She saw blood fly up from the wounds as Tethys fell, and Jadeite screamed.

"TETHYS!"

All of the youma roared and turned their eyes toward them, breaking into sprints toward the terminal. They were gaining speed quickly and would be upon them in seconds if they didn't hurry. Jadeite tried to bolt but Mars wrapped her arms around him in time, pulling him back into the terminal ignoring his shouts and cries. Finally, something in her snapped. She pushed him back, grabbed hold of his collar and slapped him – hard. "Get a grip! Do you want her sacrifice to be in vain? It _will_ be if we stay here! What would _she_ have wanted?!"

That, seemed to finally get to the hysterical blond, enough that he became silent and let Mars pull him back in, just as the youma got to the entrance. With one well-placed kick she broke the lock and led Jadeite back to the others, to where they were boarding the train that would take them back to the city. The doors slid closed with a quiet hiss as the train began moving, each of them taking a seat on the train completely spent of their energy.

She let her head fall backwards with a sigh, feeling every muscle in her body burn and scream in protest. Still, she glanced over at Jadeite who held his face in his hands, his form trembling. A part of her wanted to ask just who the woman was to her soul mate, her husband, but she couldn't bear to bring that kind of pain to him, not after all he'd been through. Instead, she wrapped her hand around the side of his head and guided his face to her shoulder, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "You're ok. We're ok."

In her arms, Jadeite, the youngest of the Four Heavenly Kings of Earth, wept.

* * *

Hello all of you lovely people, sorry this took so long and that it meets your expectations - but I've got some bad news. So, a couple days ago, the good folks down at my family's current cable provider decided to be greedy and start charging us obscene amounts in our monthly fees so they shut our service off. In other words, I'm deaf dumb and blind...so to speak.

Not to worry though! It's given me the time to finish this arc in earnest. Yes, THIS arc. I haven't been dropping hints all this time for nothing, people. But I'll explain further in the next part of this two-part update. For now, roll on.


	10. Chapter 10: Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Sailor Moon. The series and all of its characters belong to the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.

* * *

The red heel missed his face by inches, the power behind it easily capable of breaking his nose. He shifted to the side, bracing just in time to block another strike that he brushed off. He smirked. "Someone's feisty today," he teased, enjoying the small pout on the Senshi's face.

"You did say you didn't want me to go easy on you," she reminded him before hooking a leg around his, aiming to trip him up. Her tactic was avoided however and soon she launched another barrage of kicks and punches all of which he blocked. Part of her wanted to use her fire to give her an edge, but he had told her no powers and she remembered he was still honorable.

So she'd fight fair, until he slipped up that is – then she'd move in for the kill.

In all honesty she didn't believe he'd be able to move around to this extent after the thrashing he had been handed at the airport. It seemed like only yesterday he was still in bed barely able to feed himself since the sudden extraction of the darkness had left him weakened. But after only three days rest he was back on his feet and started doing what she still considered a shock; like when she came home from school today for instance, he was busy helping her grandfather out with work that had been part of his cover here only now it really was genuine.

' _Stubborn Terrans,'_ she thought irately. She was relieved that he seemed to be his old self again, the one she remembered from their past lives together but she worried about him pushing himself too far. He may've been a Shitennou but he wasn't invincible.

Jadeite dodged her punch that she had aimed at his head, ducking under her arm to close in, his arm cocked back to aim at her throat. His arm stopped just as it was a few inches away, a cocky smirk blooming across his face. "Looks like it's my win, fire bird."

Sailor Mars returned it with an expression that asked Oh-really? "You might want to look again," she asked, her eyes directing him toward where her hand was. Her next blow would've been aimed at his kidney and that would've ended the fight right then and there – the rules had been anyone who struck vitals, wins.

The blond blinked a few times before he laughed. "It's a draw then. Still, beating me as a Senshi is one thing – besting me as yourself, that's the real goal." They both relaxed and Jadeite stretched. "Still, that was a good workout. Who needs exercise when I've got you?"

His words made her blush a bit but she hid it with a turn of her head. "This coming from the Baka who was nearly on his deathbed a few days ago," she muttered with exasperation. "Under normal circumstances, you should still be resting-"

"Rei." She nearly squeaked when she saw how close Jadeite was, her cheeks starting to heat up dramatically. "I'm fine. A little roughed up but I'm going to be ok." His smile should've reassured her, it always did back then after they had gotten together.

But she worried all the same. Her gaze dropped to the ground, "I just…are you sure you want to do this? They're your comrades, your brothers, are you sure you can face them again?" She clenched her fists. "You don't even have to fight! This is a chance for you to start over, to get back to living your life the way-"

"There isn't a life for me without you in it," he said, and the sincerity in his voice made her meet his eyes once again. The brilliant blue captured her instantly. "Rei… Of all the things I want to say to you, the first would have to be I'm sorry. I should've been stronger, we all should've but… Beryl-"

"DON'T," she cut him off firmly, startling him a bit before she continued softer, "don't. Are you really going to let the past define who you are now?"

For the first time, he looked away from her, his bangs covering his eyes. "It's…not that simple."

She stared at him for several moments before feel a wet sensation drop on her shoulder, followed swiftly by another. Thunder rumbled overhead as the downpour began to fall in earnest. "Let's get back to the temple, no use soaking here like this," she said, grabbing his hand and leading them back to the shrine. They hadn't gone far, just far enough so they could train in peace and even if someone did trespass, there was a barrier in place that warded away any intruders.

Both of them took a seat under the awning, Rei's henshin long since faded. Jadeite was close to her but hadn't said a word since they'd come back and it was starting to worry her. Had what she asked really upset him that much? "You know, you never did tell me your name in this life." Her question went unanswered for a while and she had just about given up on getting him to talk when she heard him whisper.

"Ryuuji. Ishikawa Ryuuji."

She shot a look at him, "I thought that was just part of your cover before?"

"No, well, part of it yeah. But to be honest, I…can't really remember what my real name was. But when I looked it up I found a birth certificate for the name, and a photo of him – of me. If that's who I was… I don't remember anything about him. The name just came to me one day."

Rei's eyes widened in growing horror. "So you don't even remember your parents?" Jadeite shook his head. "Don't you want to find out?"

"Already did. According to the records, the Ishikawas died in a landslide during a hiking trip outside the city. Their remains were never recovered." He wrapped his arms around his legs and pulled his knees up to his chest. "No bodies…no graves. Nothing."

"I'm…so sorry," Rei whispered brokenly. How could fate be so cruel to him? What could he have been through to make him forget all about the people that brought him into this world?

Then, the melancholy that dominated the aura around them was brushed away by Jadeite's smile. "Don't be sad Fire bird. I'm not; if anything I'm grateful. Everything that's happened has led me back to you and for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm really home again."

Her heart sped up until it felt like it was about to burst out her chest. How was one man able to make her feel like she was about to explode with just a smile?!

Still, one thing had nagged her ever since she had witnessed his reaction at the airport and she'd kept it to herself up until now. But she had to know before they went any further. "Who was Tethys?" And just like that, all of the color in his face drained a bit as his eyes lowered to his feet, his bangs casting a shadow over his face. She shook her head. Idiot, what had she been thinking asking him like that? There were other ways, other-

"She looked after me," Jadeite finally said, capturing her attention instantly. "Beryl took me and the others to the Dark Kingdom at some point in our lives, but the only thing I can remember about those years was how difficult the training was and how whenever I was knocked down, she was always there to pick me back up. I took her for granted most of the time but I can recall the days when she'd sing to me. I couldn't understand how someone who was considered a monster could have the most amazing voice I'd ever heard. And near the end, she made me think that she wasn't always that so-called monster either."

"What was she then," Rei asked, hanging on his every word. The saddest smile she had ever seen graced the face of the love of her life.

"Family. The closest thing I could call her anyway." Then, he smirked at her with a look that sent shivers down her spine. "Why, what did you think she was?"

Her cheeks warmed up. "N-nothing," she stammered. "It doesn't matter!"

His smirk widened to a full-blown grin, "You know, I think someone's jealous."

"You wish!"

"You're in denial, love," he sing-songed, standing up as the rain slowly died down. "Not that I could blame you. She _was_ very beautiful and I think I saw even Neph give her a few looks every once in a while. And her legs… Oh, rain's stopped. So who's up for another-WHOA!" Quick reflexes only just saved him being pummeled with the stick of a broom wielded by his irate bright blushing fire bird. A bead of sweat slowly rolled down his cheek as he chuckled nervously.

"Ryuujiii," Rei growled.

"N-now Rei, sweetheart, dearest, there's no need for-" When Rei slowly raised the broom again, he took the chance to run but she wasn't far behind, spewing insults at him like lava from a volcano – and she certainly had erupted.

"You ungrateful pervert get back here! Faithless cad!"

* * *

In another part of town, a brunette was racing down the sidewalk as she dodged any bystanders that were in her way like they were obstacles on a course. She even had to vault over an old lady that had bent over shouting apologies all the way.

' _Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could I completely forget about it?! I'll be lucky if I just get off with cleanup duty.'_

But the way things were going she'd never make it in time, unless she cut through one of the alleys…

' _No choice. I can't miss this class!'_ She took a hard right and sped off into the alley, her quick entrance knocking over trash cans and sending the local felines scurrying with hisses. After scaling the fence that had blocked her briefly, she could see the exit and it was the street that led right to the bakery. _'Almost there-'_

"Oops."

Her whole world came tumbling down – literally. She felt something hit her ankle hard and knock her over, her vision swimming before she saw three figures come into view. She groaned inwardly.

' _Great. These guys.'_ A couple of wannabe gangsters that she'd had to put down a couple of times in the past, but it seemed that they didn't get the message the first four times.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the little orphan girl," one of them, an obese freak with a nose ring sneered. "Get a little lost, did'ya?"

She slowly got up as his cohorts laughed, glaring at them defiantly. "On any other day I'd love to pound you jerks into the pavement but I've really got to go."

"Oh, you ain't going no-wheres little lady," another spat, skinnier than his boss but still sporting the punk vibe. "Hey boss, what say we take _more_ than her stuff this time?"

"And maybe break a leg so she can't run," the final goon chuckled, this one taller than the others with a Mohawk and his front teeth missing. "Could have some fun with her then."

She scoffed a bit but weighed her options quickly; her ankle would be sore later but she refused to let these nimrods push her around. She didn't crawl out of the dirt just to be shoved down again! "Why don't you idiots back up or get messed up?"

The leader grinned toothily. "Oh yeah, we'll have our fun with her for all the times she made fools of us. Get her boys."

The goons started to surround her but she wasn't worried. They were predictable and if memory served her right, then one would-THERE! She cocked her arm back just in time to feel a satisfying crunch from the idiot's nose, listening to his squeals as he rolled around on the ground. The skinny one tried to catch her from the side but only caught air as she slammed her leg into him, knocking him into a pile of garbage. Two down, one to go. Now where _was_ he?

"Gotcha, bitch," a voice hissed in her ear before she felt herself being yanked up by her hair and held there. She held in a scream, trying to glare at the bastard's eyes as he chuckled. "Now what are you going to do? You can't hit me like this."

"No, but I can."

The very next second she felt herself being let go and fell to the ground, trying to push the pain down. The second she got her bearings back she didn't think, but acted and threw all of her force into the next punch, her fist slamming into the punk's face so hard she almost felt her knuckles break. He fell over, unconscious. "Thanks for that, but I didn't need your…help."

Before her was the most gorgeous man she'd ever laid eyes on, a thick mane of brown almost red hair that reminded her of a lion belonging to a face with a pair of brown eyes, an amused smile on his lips. Her heart started to pound like a drum. "Of course. I was just making sure you had the chance to finish what you started."

"I-uh," she stammered, suddenly at a loss for words.

"You handle yourself pretty well," he praised, "glad I'm not on your bad side."

' _It'd take a LOT to get you on my bad side, handsome,'_ a part of her swooned before she shook her head a bit.

"Yes, well," she managed to compose herself. She had to recover some of her dignity. "Thanks for…holding him."

"Any time. Just make sure you dress prepared in case something like this happens again."

She almost lost herself in his smile before reality came roaring into her mind. "The bakery! Oh, I'm so dead!" She slapped her face and groaned.

"Do you need to be somewhere?"

She started, feeling her cheeks redden a bit at the question. "O-oh, it's nothing. I'm just running a little late for something that's all. I can make it if I run-AH!" No dice. That punk had kicked something loose in her ankle and now the only way she would be making it at all was if she had a hovercraft.

"Is it far," the man asked again, this time leaning down to examine her ankle. His gentle probing was not at all unpleasant but she had to stay focused. Still, if this man was offering her a ride…and he _did_ save her, not that she would ever admit it but…

"It's just down the road, actually," she finally said and the very next moment, she felt herself being lifted up into a princess carry. "Y-you, what do you think you're doing?! Put me down!"

His smile became evil. "Are you really sure you want me to do that?" She gulped, but settled for huffing indignantly. "It's best you don't walk on that for a bit. Come on, my car is just around here. I can take you there."

He didn't jostle her or aggravate her ankle too much; it was almost like she was being carried to bed like her father had done when she was a little girl. She unconsciously leaned into him, breathing in his scent. The sensation made her heart rate speed up anew.

She didn't know this man; he was a complete stranger to her. But strangely enough he still felt… _familiar_. And it _did_ feel good being doted on like this, she admitted to herself.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe…she could afford to be a _little_ late.

* * *

Ryuuji slowly slid down the tree, whimpering slightly at the three new lumps that were on his head. "You didn't have to hit me that hard," he whined, gently touching one of the lumps before he winced. "Or that _many_ …"

Beside him, Rei harrumphed. "Serves you right you lecher. Honestly, I thought being reincarnated would do something about that aspect of your personality." She sighed. "Such a troublesome husband I have."

"Oh, so I'm yours am I," he teased, but blushed slightly all the same. "Well, it's only right. I am your dragon after all."

"…yeah, you are," she said quietly, leaning into him. "Don't forget it."

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, smiling a bit when she snuggled into his shoulder. "Hard to believe… I didn't think we deserved a second chance after all we did." When he felt her tense, he hastily added, "Not that I'm saying I don't want to be here, it's just…" He didn't know how to describe it, the feeling of being there and yet feeling out of place. They were relics of a dead era that was never coming back, but what did that mean for them?

"…do you remember what you asked me back then," she suddenly asked, and her words had him running circles mentally until the realized what she meant. The night when he first confessed his feelings for her, it had been the first real start to what would ultimately become their union.

"I asked if, for whatever reason, I ever became something else that you could stop me with all of your power. Even if it meant killing me…"

"And I said no," she said, starting to tremble. "But I had to do it anyway."

"Rei-"

"I never gave up on you," she cut him off, looking into his eyes and he was startled when he saw the unshed tears there, "even when I felt my life slipping away, because you never gave up on me when I was at my worst. You once told me about the dragons, how they are destined to be alone until they find someone who can match them. And the only one aside from its own kin that ever could was-"

Ryuuji smiled down at her and with one pull, yanked her close until their lips connected, a surge of fire igniting in the depths of his soul that threatened to burn out of control. Much as he tried to contain it, Rei's own fire called to his and so he released it, and together their flames – their spirits – finally connected and once more, they were one. The need for air was the only reason they broke apart but they remained close, content and secure in each other's arms. He gently pushed one lock behind her ear, "Who knew you could be such a romantic, Phoenix."

Her cheeks turned bright red at her old pet name, pouting a bit. "Well being around you has its disadvantages."

Jadeite pulled her into his arms until she was sitting right in his lap. "Guess we're both suckers for punishment then."

The two remained there under the starlit sky, basking in each other's glow as the stars twinkled above as if celebrating their union. And for the briefest moment, one star outshined all of the rest.

* * *

Whether this Epilogue was enough for you guys, i'm afraid this is the conclusion of The Maiden and the Dragon. Got to say, I didn't expect anywhere past 3 reviews at max for this story. Didn't think I warranted anything beyond that kind of consideration but shows what I know, eh? You guys are incredible and make this all worth while. I hope you've enjoyed this little take on my OTP and if you didn't...well, just be gentle is all I'm asking. It's my first official story.

Now, to what I was talking about at the end of the last chapter. Over the course of this story I've dropped in hints and tidbits of the other couples and now, even Mako-chan and Neph. If you guys want me to, I will get to work on making the next installment of what could a be series if you guys are interested, each new fic revolving around a certain couple - the next one would be Jupiter and Nephrite. Of course, that's entirely up to you guys. I'll be setting up a poll on my profile that you can vote for the next story, which couple you'd like to see next from me or, if you like things the way they are and don't want me writing anymore, leave things as they be. Of course, none of this can even get rolling until my internet comes back which hopefully won't take more than a week or two but could take as long as until early April.

In the end, the decision comes to you, faithful readers. Just let me say it has been a blast writing this for you guys and I hope to see you all again in the future. Until then,

Write on!

P.s. Sis, check your PMs. Further details there.


	11. Author's Update

Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

So...yeah, about that continuation of Maiden and the Dragon, I'm still working on it but my life has changed dramatically since I finished this. You got to understand something guys so I'm going to level with you.

Currently I'm living over at my grandmother's now; my father and I got into a nasty fight one night a few months ago. I'll spare you the drama but I'll just say he said some things that could never be taken back, and even threatened me with physical harm if I called the authorities on him for the way he was acting. So I moved out, and now I'm going back to school. That's been dominating my time lately.

I haven't abandoned this idea guys, but studies come first. But over the summer I'll see what I can get going in the way of the continuation. I don't want to leave you guys hanging.

In the meantime, there is a short little idea I've been throwing around in my head of my two Ocs – Sailor Moon oriented, of course – but they'd only be for a one-shot. But that'll come when I have the time and the energy to actually sit down and devote a few hours to this thing.

So to lay it on the line, life is catching up with me...or rather, I'm trying to catch up with it. I've been isolated for so long that simple social practices are difficult for me. But I'm trying. I have not given up on you guys – this story WILL continue, of that I promise you.

For now, take care and please bear with me.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this work of mine. It means everything to me.


End file.
